The ECHR ordered the Azerbaijani authorities to pay compensation to the opposition newspaper Azadlig.

Akhmedov's lawsuit was prompted by an article in the newspaper "Azadlyg," published on April 8, 2012, titled "Tagi Akhmedov Embezzled Five-Kopeck Coins." The article stated that after a metro fare increase, a problem arose with the use of balances on travel cards. The newspaper concluded that the metro had appropriated the balances. Akhmedov demanded that the newspaper pay 200,000 manat (approximately $255,000) for defamation. In September 2012, the Yasamal Court fined the newspaper 30,000 manat (approximately $38,230); the Baku Court of Appeal and the Supreme Court of Azerbaijan subsequently upheld the decision. Representatives of the newspaper considered these decisions politically motivated, aimed at undermining the economic foundations of the publication. The European Court of Human Rights today issued its ruling on the complaint filed by the Azadlig newspaper. It found a "disproportionate and unjustified interference with the applicant newspaper's right to freedom of expression," as provided for in Article 10 of the European Convention on Human Rights. This interference in the newspaper's work was recognized in the decisions of national courts against the newspaper in connection with a publication about the former general director of the Baku Metro.

The article, which became the subject of a lawsuit filed by the Baku Metro management against the Azadlig newspaper, reported that after the metro fare increase, passengers' cards retained a balance of 0.05 manat (0.6 cents at the then exchange rate), and these funds were ultimately written off and appropriated by the Baku Metro management. The article pointed to the lack of any control or oversight over the activities, revenues, and expenses of the Baku Metro—mechanisms that “could identify embezzlement.”

“The Metro is a profitable industry. But this profit flows into the pockets of the Baku Metro management because no one calculates its profits. The TA Metro is an impregnable fortress,” the Azadliq article is quoted as saying in the ruling published on the ECHR website.

The fine of 30,000 manats (approximately 30,000 euros at the exchange rate at the time) was debited from the newspaper’s bank account as a result of the court rulings, which worsened the publication’s financial situation and ultimately led to the cessation of its print edition in 2016.

In its application to the ECHR, the newspaper complained of unjustified and disproportionate interference with its right to freedom of expression. expression of opinion, since the national courts found the contested article to be defamatory and imposed excessive compensation on the building for its publication. During the investigation, the court upheld the editorial board's arguments, finding a violation of the newspaper's rights.

By the court's decision, the Azerbaijani government is obligated to pay the editorial board 25,000 euros in compensation for material damages, another 3,000 euros in compensation for moral damages, and 1,500 euros in legal costs.

Currently, the Azadlig newspaper is published only in electronic form from abroad. The complaint by the Baku Metro management was not only a claim by an individual government agency. It was part of a broader repressive campaign to economically strangle the Azadlig newspaper. Then, the owner of the Bina shopping center, Kabira Mammadova, also filed a major lawsuit against the newspaper, which was upheld by local courts. However, years later, the ECHR recognized it as illegal. The fantastic financial sanctions against the newspaper paved the way for its bankruptcy and inability to pay its debts to the Azerbaijan publishing house. As a result, the newspaper "The newspaper ceased publication in 2016. At the same time, the newspaper's financial director, Faig Amirov, was arrested. After that, pressure on the staff intensified, and most of the journalists fled the country. "They are now publishing an online version of the newspaper from Europe," one of the few Azadlyg employees remaining in Baku told a Caucasian Knot correspondent.

Azerbaijan's authorized representative to the ECHR, Chingiz Askerov, was unavailable for comment.