(RSF/IFEX) – On 25 February 2004, a Baku court sentenced journalists Rovshan Kebirli and Yusif Gambar to two-year suspended prison sentences for “defamation”. The journalists were charged over an article claiming the National Taekwondo Federation helped security forces break up demonstrations in Baku that followed the disputed 15 October 2003 presidential election. The Baku court […]
(RSF/IFEX) – On 25 February 2004, a Baku court sentenced journalists Rovshan Kebirli and Yusif Gambar to two-year suspended prison sentences for “defamation”. The journalists were charged over an article claiming the National Taekwondo Federation helped security forces break up demonstrations in Baku that followed the disputed 15 October 2003 presidential election.
The Baku court also ordered Kebirli, editor-in-chief of the daily “Mukhalifat”, and Gambar, who wrote the 18 October article, to hand over 15 percent of their salaries to the state for the next two years.
“The Azerbaijani authorities have once again demonstrated their contempt for press freedom and for their commitments to the Council of Europe,” RSF said, while noting that “journalists should never face prison sentences simply for doing their job.”
The organisation called on the government and Ali Hasanov, the presidential aide responsible for news media, to do everything possible to ensure that Articles 147.2 and 148 are removed from the criminal code. Both articles provide for prison terms for “defamation” and “insults”.
Taekwondo Federation Vice-President Fizuli Muzayev also sought the newspaper’s closure, but the court dismissed his request. Kebirli and Gambar said they believed their sentences to be politically motivated and announced their intention to appeal.
