(RSF/IFEX) - Reporters Without Border has called for the immediate release of editor Shahin Agabeyli, of the newspaper "Milli Yol", who was sentenced to a year in jail for supposedly "insulting" and "blackmailing" former parliament spokesman Arif Ramhimzadeh in articles he wrote.
"This is a harsh and disproportionate sentence," the worldwide press freedom organisation said. "Without judging the details of the case, we cannot accept that any journalist be sent to prison for what he has written. We urge that the sentence be cancelled."
Agabeyli was arrested on 9 August 2006 and held at Bayil prison for failing to respond to various summonses of the Nasimi district court. He appeared before the court on 10 August on four charges.
He was was first convicted of resisting arrest and cautioned by Judge Hilal Hilalov. Another judge, Gulnara Tagizadeh, then found him guilty of writing that the Khatai town council was corrupt and ordered the paper to pay the council 600 euros in damages.
He was then accused of insulting the former parliament spokesman, who complained of articles which appeared in 2005 that he said damaged his integrity and honour by accusing him of rigging a parliamentary election and bribing voters, thus invalidating his election to parliament in a district where Agabeyli was also a candidate. The editor was sentenced to six months in prison for "blackmail" and six months for "insults."
In the fourth case, interior minister Ramil Usubov sued Agabeyli for libelling him by implicating him in crimes perpetrated by former police Col. Hali Mamedov and accusing him of wanting to flee the country. The judge set the next hearing for 14 August. The editor's colleagues have formed a support committee.
