How can victims of insults on social media protect their rights in Azerbaijan?

Key aspects concerning the protection of the rights of persons subjected to defamation and insults on social media and other internet resources, as well as the procedure for applying to the court and presenting evidence, have been explained.

Fuad Akhundov, a judge of the Khatai District Court of the city of Baku, stated on this matter that complaints about defamation and insult under the private prosecution procedure must be submitted in written form to the relevant court of first instance.

According to the judge, as a general rule such complaints are considered by the court at the place where the crime was committed.

For example, if the place where an offensive expression was used during a public speech is known, the complaint is filed with the competent court of the respective territory.

F. Akhundov noted that there are special rules for determining the jurisdiction of cases related to the dissemination of information containing defamation and insults in the media and on internet resources. This issue is explained in paragraph 12 of the Resolution of the Plenum of the Supreme Court of the Republic of Azerbaijan dated February 21, 2014.

Thus, if the legal address of the relevant media outlet or internet resource is known, territorial jurisdiction is, as a rule, determined taking that address into account. If the legal address is unknown or the internet resource is registered abroad, the complaint is considered by the court at the last place of residence of the person who disseminated the information on the territory of the Republic of Azerbaijan.

The judge explained that, for example, in the case of the dissemination of defamatory (slanderous) information on the social network Facebook, given its registration abroad, the complaint must be filed with the court of first instance at the place of registration of the person who disseminated this information in Azerbaijan. At the same time, the fact of where the publication was physically made — in Baku or another region — does not affect the determination of jurisdiction.

F. Akhundov also emphasized the importance of correctly collecting evidence when applying to the court over facts of defamation and insults.

According to him, first of all it is necessary to preserve the source and content of the disputed publication. For this purpose, it is advisable to save the web link to the publication, the name of the account or channel, the date of publication, the text, as well as video materials. In video recordings, the fragment in which the disputed expression is heard should be recorded, while preserving the general context of its use.

When providing screenshots, it is important to indicate when and from which account they were obtained. The court verifies the source, reliability and relevance of the submitted evidence to the specific person.

The judge drew attention to the fact that the requirements for the form and content of a complaint under the private prosecution procedure are established by Articles 293.3.1–293.3.7 of the Criminal Procedure Code of the Republic of Azerbaijan.

According to these requirements, the complaint must indicate the name, surname, patronymic, year of birth, place of residence and occupation of the applicant, as well as the essence of the act that served as the grounds for the complaint, the place, time and circumstances of its commission. If damage was caused, information about this must also be indicated.

In addition, the complaint must be accompanied by the personal data and place of residence of the person against whom the complaint is filed, information confirming that the act was committed by that particular person, data on witnesses, documents and other evidence.

F. Akhundov particularly emphasized that it is fundamentally important to precisely indicate in the complaint the specific expressions regarded as defamation or insult. The complaint must also contain a request to hold the person criminally liable, the place and date of drawing up the document, as well as the applicant's signature.