The case of "harsh dictatorship"

The French court rejected the claim of Azerbaijan. Why is it important?

On November 7, the court of the Parisian suburbs of the Nanter made a decision on a sign claim: for the first time in the history of France, a foreign state filed a lawsuit against French journalists. The authorities of Azerbaijan decided to challenge the words “dictatorship”, “dictator”, “despot”, “one of the most severe dictatorships in the world” sounding in French TV and accused journalists of Diffamation.

The court decision was important not only for the authorities of Azerbaijan and journalists of one program: theoretically, in the event of the recognition of the correctness of the plaintiffs, the Courts of France could be littered with claims from the authorities of other countries, whose politics was ever criticized by the French media.

The words about the “dictatorial regime”, which became the subject of consideration of the court in the nanter, were heard in the program “Cash Investigation”, which was published on the Gostelekanal France 2 in September 2015.

The program showed a two-hour film-investigation film called “My President on a business trip”.

The plot of the investigation, which gives a picture of the backstage relations of French politicians with the authorities of Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan, is built around two trips of France presidents to these countries.

The first part of the film begins with the trip of Francois Hollande to Baku on May 11, 2014. The creators of the investigation - Laurent Richard, Eliz Luza and others - several times call the Ilham Aliyev regime of dictatorial and declare that "in the diplomatic correspondence of the American State Department, Ilham Aliyev is described as" the godfather who controls the country in the manner of Corleone. "

"Fasten seat belts. We will spend you for the curtains of presidential trips. / .../ The first stage - Azerbaijan. His oil. His gas. And his dictatorship is one of the most severe in the world. What is the weight of the human rights when it comes to concluding contracts worth about 2 billion euros? ”, The leading“ Cash Investigation ”and one of the creators of the film Eliz Lusa gave such an“ eyeliner ”to the film.

The response of the Azerbaijani authorities followed immediately: already on September 9, 2015, two days after the film show, the French lawyer Olivier Pardo, representing the interests of Azerbaijan, compiled a statement of claim about Diffamation. As a result, the case was opened against Dolphin Ernott (President of the France Télévisions group) and journalists Eliz Luza and Laurent Richard.

On the side of journalists in court, the human rights organization “Reporters without Borders” and one of the heroines of the film, the famous Azerbaijani human rights activist Leila Yunus, performed.

Some French politicians testified to the authorities of Azerbaijan: in particular, the former senator Andre Vilier and former deputy of the National Assembly of Jean-Franesu Mansel-members of the administrative council of the Association of Friends of Azerbaijan, partially funded Baku (information of Le Nouvel Observateur). According to RFI, the Association "is mainly funded from the Heydar Aliyev Foundation, headed by the first lady of Azerbaijan Meribhan Aliyeva."

On September 5, during the first court hearing, Mansel said that he was simply “scandalized” by the fact that Azerbaijan was called dictatorship: “I know Azerbaijan well, and especially Azerbaijanis, who are very happy where they live,” the ex-deputy said.

By the way, on the day of the first court session, September 5, 2017, several European publications (including Le Monde) published the results of the investigation of the Center for Corruption and Organized Crime (OCCRP) on Azerbaijan.

“From 2012 to 2014, against the backdrop of mass arrests of activists and journalists in Azerbaijan, representatives of the ruling elite used the Black Cash register to pay bribes to European politicians and money laundering,” the Azerbaijani authorities used fictitious companies in the UK $ 2.9 billion. This money was bribed by European politicians who lobbying the interests of Azerbaijan in the EU and blocked resolutions condemning human rights violations in the former Soviet Republic. ”

The same topic became the main one for the film “My President on a business trip”: journalists presented materials and evidence that

The French "people's chosen ones" probably receive from representatives of a "friendly country" - or from French companies interested in cooperation with this country - gifts and money.

Cash Investigation journalists asked almost all the defendants in their investigation-from the then chairman of the Friendship Group France Azerbaijan in the French National Council Tieri Marian (which has now entered the “Ethics Committee” of the RT France television channel) to Francois Nullland, from Azerbaijani dissidents and independent journalists and independent journalists Azerbaijani leader Ilham Aliyev and his wife Mehriban.

The most touching character was Michel Gurinshas, ​​the socialist mayor of Cognac, who achieved the construction in the city of Lux Hotel with Azerbaijani money (“Investment with 60 million euros”). Looking at the camera, the mayor timidly admitted that he received gifts in Azerbaijan - in particular, caviar and carpet. An honest mayor could not refuse to the journalist’s proposal for the journalist for examination.

The examination appreciated the carpet of 6-8 thousand euros, the mayor recognized his mistake, promised to declare a gift and transfer to the disposal of the inhabitants of Cognac.

However, the other characters of the film held stronger, and they could get much more from a friendly country.

But this was not the subject of consideration of the court in the Nanter. The Azerbaijani authorities challenged only the “moral” formulations without touching the “financial side” of the investigation.

Today, November 7, 2017, the court recognized Azerbaijan’s lawsuit unacceptable, since, firstly, freedom of speech is the “fundamental basis of democracy,” and the press on the press “Diffamation” does not have the press; And secondly, the “French criminal law does not provide for the states of the opportunity to act as civilian plaintiffs.

“This also applies to the French state,” the judge recalled and emphasized that “the state of Azerbaijan is in the same position as the state of France.”

Azerbaijan’s lawyer, Master Olivier Pardo in a new commentary expressed indignation about the verdict; He stated that he would recommend the appeal to customers and assured that the country that he protects cannot be called dictatorship, since there are “50 political parties”, freedom of speech and “access to the Internet”, and there is no death penalty.

Paris

PS

The court also rejected the lawsuit of the journalist Laurent Richard, who demanded compensation from Azerbaijan in the amount of 5 thousand euros for the “non -legal lawsuit”. The reason for the refusal is the same: the state of Azerbaijan is recognized as an improper plaintiff in this matter.