Azerbaijan, Baku / Тrend corr K Zarbaliyeva / A preliminary hearing on the appeal of the President of the Azersun Holding company, Abdulbary Gozal, against the editor-in-chief of the Yeni Musavat newspaper, Rauf Arifoghlu, was held in the Nizami District Court presided by Judge Huseyn Huseynov on 30 April. Both sides provided evidence at the hearing. The next court hearing was scheduled for 7 May.
The plaintiff demands institute criminal proceedings to be made in compliance with Article 147.2 of the Criminal Code (defamation in grave or very grave crime) and to make the defendant accountable.
The reason the suit was made against him was through a speech made by Arifoghlu on 29 March, 2007 on the Turkish TV channel "Channel Turk". The TV program focused on the bonds of Kurdish terrorists in different organizations. Arifoghlu insisted that it was the channel who should be charged and not him.
The Yeni Musavat Newspaper and the administration of the Azersun Holding also previously had court examinations.