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French court fines Ganimat Zahid over defamatory claims, says Ganizada

19 February 2026 12:05 (UTC +04:00)

Chairman of the Democracy and Human Rights Committee and human rights defender Chingiz Ganizada held a press conference regarding the decision issued by a French court based on his complaint against Ganimat Zahid, APA reports.

Chingiz Ganizada said that the Paris Criminal Court had adopted a decision on the claim and that his complaint had been upheld: “My goal was to prove that the statements made by foreign bloggers were complete nonsense and to clear my name. I had been waiting for this decision for nearly six years. In August 2019, on various dates, Ganimat Zahidov published defamatory information about me on his YouTube channel. He claimed that at that time I had organized or participated in the murder of an Azerbaijani citizen in Russia and that I was not being punished. Therefore, I applied to a French court regarding these defamatory allegations, because this false claim was used against me. At the same time, it also influenced public opinion.”

The human rights defender added that Ganimat Zahid did not wish to participate in the proceedings: “Ganimat Zahid initially did not attend the hearings. A compulsory appearance order was issued against him. Even when he did appear, he brought a false witness with him, but the witness was removed from the courtroom. Not content with this, Ganimat Zahid described the trial as political. By the decision of the Paris Criminal Court dated October 21, 2025, he was found to have committed a criminal offense. He was fined 500 euros. The reason for selecting such a small amount was that he does not have a job and is under the protection of the French state. This is the first such case in the history of the Azerbaijani state. I caused a person who sought refuge in another country and spread slander to lose a court case in that very country.”

Ganizade added that regarding the incident mentioned by Ganimat Zahidç the murder of an Azerbaijani citizen, those responsible have been detained and punished: “If Ganimat Zahid resorts to such slander again, he may be deported from the country where he resides.”