The Sabail District Court of Baku completed the examination of a lawsuit filed by the Ministry of Communications on May 12, which demanded that access to a number of news sites in Azerbaijan be permanently blocked.
The court has agreed with the appeal and given permission to block azadlıq.info, azadlıq.org, azərbaycansaatı.com, meydan.tv, Turan TV channel (Turan TV) and Azərbaycan Saatı.
The Electronic Security Center under the Ministry of Communications motivated its claim by alleging that the sites in question are “threats to the legitimate interests of the state and society”.
The lawyer Samad Rahimov, who spoke at the court session on behalf of the defendants, pointed out the lack of ground for the decision of the Ministry of Communications. Ragimov pointed out that in the publications cited by the Ministry of Communications, there is nothing that violates the “legitimate interests of society and the state.” The materials did not contain any calls for religious radicalism or other unlawful actions.
The trial concerning the blocking of the above sites critical of the government began back in late March.
