Third Lawsuit against Azersu on Turan News Agency�s Information Request

Baku / 02.08.17 / Turan: Turan News Agency filed a third lawsuit against Azersu OJSC due to the refusal of this organization to respond to the information request.

The request was sent to the head of Azersu on July 27, 2016, in connection with the preparation of material on the construction of a special water pipeline with water for a couple of high-ranking officials in the village of Buzovna, which suffers from a lack of drinking water, by the state company Azersu.

The agency knows the names of the customers of the "immoral water pipe", but it requires Azersu to name them officially. One of them is the head of a state committee, and the second is the head of the executive power of one of the districts of Baku.

The agency wrote two articles on this topic, achieving a suspension of the construction. The director of the agency applied to Administrative Economic Court No. 1 on October 11, 2016 to obtain an answer to the information request in accordance with the procedure established by law (Laws on Freedom of Information, Combating Corruption, and Administrative Offenses, and Administrative Procedure Code).

The legal process started after the agency's insistence on 22 February. Three hearings were held. The judges Tahira Asadova and Museyib Bayramov rejected the lawsuits, allegedly because of the improper drawing up.

"We will seek response to the information request, regardless of the time and opposition of officials and judges," the Director of the Turan News Agency Mehman Aliyev said, noting that he was disappointed by the actions of the Ombudsman's office, which withdrew, referring to the trial in court. -0-