30 October 2014, 12:41
Azerbaijani filmmaker Eldaniz Guliev fined for libelling MIA head
Today, a verdict has been announced to the filmmaker Eldaniz Guliev, charged with insult and defamation under the lawsuit filed by the Azerbaijani Interior Minister Ramil Usubov. The court has sentenced Guliev to a fine of 1000 manats (about 1227 US dollars) and 480 hours of community works.
The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that in late August, Ramil Usubov, the head of the Ministry of Internal Affairs (MIA) filed a private lawsuit on defamation against Eldaniz Guliev. On August 26, Ekhsan Zakhidov, the deputy head of the press service of the MIA, explained that Guliev "in his address to the MIA leadership through the media, while complaining about the actions of a traffic inspector, admitted insults of the entire Azerbaijani police, undermined their honour and dignity, and caused harm to their business reputation."
Commenting on the verdict, the lawyer Sadygov has treated it as unjustified. "There is no subject for prosecution. The court has unreasonably handed down the guilty verdict. We'll obviously lodge an appeal," Elchin Sadygov told the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent.
Eldaniz Guliev has called the verdict politically motivated.
Full text of the article is available on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’.
Author: Faik Medzhid Source: CK correspondent
