Your trusted source

The French appeals court has upheld a lower court decision dismissing the criminal defamation charges brought by Azerbaijani government against two French journalists for calling the country a "dictatorship."  In its ruling, the Versailles Appeals Court makes references to the press law which “is designed to ensure the freedom of speech and prevent a state from launching a prosecution against individuals.”

Thus, the court ends the case against Elise Lucet and the then-news director of France-2 TV sued by Azerbaijani government in a hearing that appeared to be the first case, involving a foreign government bringing a defamation suit against journalists before a French court.

In 2017, the court of first instance in the Paris suburb of Nanterre dismissed the criminal defamation charges, citing the press law.

To remind, Azerbaijan sued journalists Elise Lucet and Laurent Richard working for the France 2 network for defamation over a 2015 investigative report. The reporters were accused of defaming the Azerbaijani government by referring to it as a "dictatorship" when the former Soviet republic received a visit from then French president Francois Hollande.

The lawsuit against the two television journalists was earlier slammed by the media watchdog Reporters Without Borders' (RSF) as “an act of intimidation highlighting the Azerbaijani government’s contempt for free speech.” Media freedom activists also pointed to the dangerous precedent by a foreign government to export censorship beyond its own borders.