Website arqument.az is blocked

Baku/09.04.19/Turan: From April 9, access to the media site arqument.az has been blocked.

Site editor Shamshad Aga told Turan that the site's domain is in Germany. He will undergo a dos-attack, and then blocked in the territory of Azerbaijan.

No official or unofficial notice of blocking the site has been received by arqument.az.

Shamshad Aga suspects that the blockage is connected with the publication of materials about the protest of farmers in the Jalilabad region, dissatisfied with the introduction of high export duties on potatoes and onions.

This version is supported by the fact that information about this protest was removed from all pro-government sites.

According to the law, the information may be blocked by the Ministry of Communications only after informing the editorial board of the need to withdraw information. Only in case of failure of the editors to do this, the site is blocked.

Further proceedings on the legality of the actions of the parties may be considered in court. Full blocking of the site is possible only based on a court decision and with weighty evidence, such as: spreading state secrets, propaganda of various forms of intolerance, incitement of hostility, etc.

On August 8, 2018, the Sabail District Court decided to block the website arqument.az based on an appeal to the court of the Electronic Security Center at the Ministry of Communications. It found a violation of the law in the publications "The Lachin residents said they were not satisfied with the head of the executive branch" and "The residents of the region: the head of the executive branch and Gorkhmaz Huseynov (head of Azersu OJSC) create a confrontation in Lerik."

The editors announced the groundlessness of the court decision and filed an appeal. Two days later, the Court of Appeal overturned the blocking decision. -0-