The court in Baku appointed an examination in the case of Samira Gasymly regarding defamation.
The Binagadi District Court appointed a linguistic examination in the case against the wife of political scientist Azer Gasymly, Samira Gasymly, regarding defamation and postponed the review of materials until the results are received.
As reported by "Caucasian Knot", the wife of the convicted political scientist Azer Gasymly, Samira Gasymly, has become a defendant in a defamation case. Her criminal prosecution was initiated based on a statement from a person recognized as a victim in her husband's case. On July 14, the Binagadi District Court recognized Gasymly as a defendant in the case.
On March 11, the court in Baku sentenced to 12 years of imprisonment the director of the Institute of Political Management, political scientist Azer Gasymly. The defendant categorically denied the charge of extortion and stated that he was arrested due to his socio-political activities and critical publications. The lawyers called the case fabricated.
On September 25, the process in the case of Samira Gasymly continued at the Binagadi District Court in Baku. The private prosecutor and also the victim, Gurbanali Yusifov, again did not appear in court, Gasymly told the correspondent of "Caucasian Knot".
She noted that she expressed protest against conducting the process without the participation of the private prosecutor, but Judge Samir Nasibov continued the proceedings.
Yusifov considered the use of the expressions "Üzəduran" and "üzə duran" by Samira Gasymly on the social network Facebook* as an insult to his honor and dignity. However, Samira Gasymly and her lawyer Ramil Iskenderli stated to the court that this assertion was unfounded.
The defense presented an expert opinion from a linguist specialist to the court.
"The expert opinion states that the use of the expressions 'üzəduran' and 'üzə duran' in the Azerbaijani language in a legal and investigative context corresponds to linguistic norms. The expressions 'üzə durmaq' and 'üzünə durmaq' can mean a person who has testified against another person or against them," said Samira Gasymly.
Lawyer Iskenderli pointed out that the court can also appoint an examination and establish the unlawfulness of qualifying the mentioned expressions as an insult to honor and dignity and defamation.
The court granted the petition and postponed the hearings indefinitely until the results of the examination are received.
Earlier, Samira Gasymly stated that she faced a politically motivated case. "Initially, based on the false statement of this person, my husband was arrested and convicted. When I began to defend the rights of my husband and other political prisoners, this began to cause discontent among the authorities. Since my activities were conducted not only within the country but also on international platforms. To prevent my departure from the country for international events and to punish me, they are again using a person who slandered my husband against me," said Gasymly to the correspondent of "Caucasian Knot".
One of the lawyers from Baku also pointed out the unfounded nature of the criminal prosecution of Samira Gasymly based on her use of the expressions "üzəduran" and "üzə duran".
"Although these expressions are not reflected in the criminal procedural legislation of Azerbaijan, in the context of investigative and judicial cases they are used in relation to persons who testify against someone. In everyday language, these words can be understood as 'slanderer' and mean that the person to whom they were used is a 'false witness'. Probably, in this case, the complaint was filed against Samira Gasymly from this perspective. But even if we proceed from such an interpretation, the publication of Samira Gasymly cannot create legal consequences for her," he said to the correspondent of "Caucasian Knot".
The use of the word "slanderer" in the context of defending her husband should be considered as an evaluative judgment, an expression of position, and not the dissemination of knowingly false information, the lawyer noted.
"It can be unequivocally stated that the position of the prosecution in this case is weak. In addition, the court cannot ignore the public perception of the dispute, namely, the negative attitude in the local mentality towards the prosecution of a woman by a man, especially after the husband of this woman was convicted based on the complaint of a person," he pointed out.
An employee of the Binagadi Court confirmed to the correspondent of "Caucasian Knot" that the case against Gasymly has been postponed indefinitely due to the appointment of a linguistic examination.
"Caucasian Knot" currently does not have a comment from Gurbanali Yusifov.