Azeri activist treats case of insulting veterans as political order

Veterans of the Karabakh war have filed a lawsuit for libel and insult against Abid Gafarov, an Azerbaijani activist, who posted videos about them on the Internet. Gafarov treats the accusations as unjustified and links the case with his social activities.

On July 6, the Yasamal District Court of Baku considered the veterans' complaint against Abid Gafarov, who is the head of the "Baku Unity" Association.

The veterans of the second Karabakh war demand that Gafarov be brought to justice under articles of slander and insult, Gafarov himself told the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent.

The veterans' claims were provoked by Gafarov's words that they now put up with the fact that they "are not considered to be people," says the complaint, a copy of which is at the disposal of the "Caucasian Knot". Gafarov reproached the veterans for not fighting for their rights and for being too obedient, the complaint states.

Abid Gafarov treats the charges unjustified from the legal viewpoint, since he mentioned nobody personally in his statement. He has also explained that he had no intent to offend the veterans; on the contrary, he wanted their rights not to be violated.

He has suggested that there was an order for his arrest. "The way the case is being considered by the court gives reason to believe that there is an order for my arrest, and veterans are simply used for this," Mr Gafarov has suggested.

He believes that veterans are being used against him because he had drawn the public attention to the "Terter case".

This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on July 6, 2022 at 11:57 pm MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.