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After losing his job as a loan specialist at a reputable bank, Mikail Talibov, a native of the southern Azerbaijani town of Ojakaran, spent two years haplessly fighting his dismissal in court. Frustrated, Talibov finally aired his grievances on Facebook, posting comments accusing his former employer, AccessBank, of corruption and greed, the Radio Liberty writes in one of his articles.

According to the article, AccessBank hit back, becoming the first plaintiff in Azerbaijan to file a lawsuit under a controversial new provision criminalizing online defamation. Talibov was found guilty and sentenced to a year of "corrective labor" -- essentially public service -- and a 20 percent loss of earnings. He has also been asked to post a withdrawal of his accusations. Talibov said he wasn't surprised by the sentence, admitting he was expecting something "much harsher."

“Equally disappointing, for many rights watchers, is the fact that one of the entities behind Azerbaijan's first online libel conviction is the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), an institution that pledges to uphold democratic values and freedom of expression in the countries where it operates,” the material reads.

Rashid Hajili, a lawyer who heads the Baku-based Media Rights Institute, says the EBRD's role in the case is regrettable. "Yes, we have big problems in Azerbaijan," says Hajili. "But people here still hoped these international organizations would never take these kinds of steps. Unfortunately, we're now witnessing a blow to free speech by these very organizations," he said.

Radio Liberty reminds that the EBRD holds a 20 percent stake, as do the Black Sea Trade and Development Bank, the International Finance Corporation (IFC), and Kreditanstalt fur Wiederaufbau. Two additional foreign-based firms, Access Microfinance Holding AG and LFS Financial Systems GmbH, share the remaining 20 percent. Any link between the EBRD and the controversial defamation case would appear to contradict the EBRD's founding mandate of upholding freedom of speech and other principles of democracy and rule of law in its countries of operation.

“It would also underscore doubts about the West's real commitment to human rights concerns in Azerbaijan, an oil-rich country that observers have accused of gift-giving "caviar diplomacy" in its dealings with the Council of Europe and other potential critics,” the source reports.

The EBRD, founded in 1991 to promote private-sector development in the countries of the former Eastern bloc, has invested more than $1.6 billion in Azerbaijan alone. The bank formally cooperates with the Council of Europe in assessing reforms and has acknowledged the bleak state of human rights in Azerbaijan. The EBRD's own strategy document for the country even notes that "decriminalization of libel is needed to protect freedom of expression for members of the media and is a vital component of democratic governance," the material reads.

“But rights watchers say the verdict is a grim harbinger, and that more serious cases may lie ahead. When the Azerbaijani parliament in May moved to criminalize online defamation -- which now carries a maximum punishment of a $1,200 fine and a six-month jail term -- many saw the move as a warning to Internet journalists ahead of presidential elections in October in which the autocratic incumbent, Ilham Aliyev, is set to run for a third term,” the report says.