Minister sues rights defender claiming libel
Azerbaijani Interior Minister Ramil Usubov has
filed a lawsuit against rights defender Leyla Yunus claiming he was
libeled.
The suit came after comments by Yunus, who heads the Institute of
Peace and Democracy, claiming the presence, allegedly, of organized
criminal groups within the ministry. This is similar to a criminal
group headed by a former senior Interior Ministry official, Haji
Mammadov, whose gang was responsible for numerous killings and
kidnappings in Azerbaijan over a ten year period and was
subsequently jailed. Usubov was also angered by the analyst`s
comparing Azerbaijani police officers with Mexican and Nigerian law
enforcers.
The plaintiff sought Yunus`s withdrawing the statements that
damaged the image of the police, her apology to the ministry and a
100,000 manat ($123,000) fine for the infliction of moral
distress.
Yunus termed the lawsuit as pressure on civil society
representatives in Azerbaijan. "Having silenced independent media,
they are now trying to hush up public organizations and rights
defenders," she claimed.
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