Today, on National Press Day, the European Court of Human Rights ruled that the applicants' freedom of expression had been violated in the cases of Rovshan Kabirli (Mahmudov), editor-in-chief of the Mukhalifat newspaper, and Yashar Agazade, former editor of the newspaper's legal department. According to the decision, the Government must pay the applicants a total of EUR 2,400 in compensation for non-pecuniary damage and EUR 1,000 in compensation for expenses.

The complaint was related to the criminal prosecution under the article "AMAY - Aliyev's trademark", in which the late academician Jalal Aliyev (uncle of Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev) was allegedly slandered.

Following Jalal Aliyev's complaint against special criminal charges, the journalists were found guilty of libel on May 16, 2007 by the Yasamal District Court. Each was sentenced to two years and six months in prison.
In December 2007, the journalists were pardoned by the President of Azerbaijan.

The European Court of Human Rights has previously considered appeals by Agazade and Makhmudov in connection with another article on Jalal Aliyev.

Shahnaz Salehgizi