Verdict to Azerbaijani blogger Mamedli upheld

The court of appeal did not grant the complaints against the sentence of Azerbaijani blogger Djamil Mamedli, who was convicted on the charge of defaming an official.

The “Caucasian Knot” has reported that on March 4, a court found Djamil Mamedli guilty of defamation about committing a grave crime and sentenced him to 1.5 years of corrective labour. The reason for the lawsuit was a blogger’s video about the misappropriation by an executive top official of the money allocated to the district for the organization of public works.

Blogger’s advocate Nemat Kerimli called the criminal prosecution of his client unlawful.

“Firstly, criminal punishment for a defamation dispute is unacceptable from the point of view of the ECtHR and the recommendations of other institutions of the Council of Europe (CE) ... Secondly, the claims against the blogger are generally inappropriate here. His video was based on specific facts,” the advocate said.

Earlier, the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) issued the decisions obliging the Azerbaijan’s authorities to abolish criminal penalties for defamation and consider defamation disputes under civil law, noted Khalid Agaliev, the head of the Media Rights Group.

It should be noted that Djamil Mamedli has been participating for many years in the projects of civil society in Azerbaijan. The activist covered social and economic problems and violations of human rights.