Lawyer for Azerbaijani diplomats who filed criminal complaint over alleged fraud threatens the press
Journalists are the target again! This time, the threat came from a legal professional. Halil Cenk Akdoğan, the lawyer for Azerbaijani diplomats who initially went to the prosecutor's office claiming they were defrauded of 350 thousand dollars but withdrew their complaint after their names appeared in the media, sent an email to members of the press. In the email, Akdoğan threatened journalists who reported on the diplomats with criminal complaints and lawsuits for damages.
12punto
Azerbaijani diplomats, who had filed a criminal complaint against Gökalp İçer, CEO of the crypto company ICRYPEX, and Murat Şirinov, who was identified as an employee of the company, over allegations of fraud, withdrew their complaint after their names appeared in the media.
Hasanali Hasanova, one of the Azerbaijani diplomats who also dismissed their previous lawyer, sent a letter to members of the media announcing that they were withdrawing their complaint, stating that Gökalp İçer had suffered grievances because of them.
Hasanova, who apologized to Gökalp İçer—who was being tried as a defendant in the 10th High Criminal Court following their criminal complaint—swiftly appointed a new lawyer to replace the one they had dismissed.
The first order of business for the new lawyer, Halil Cenk Akdoğan, was to threaten the journalists who had written about the grievances of the Azerbaijani diplomats—who had initially sought legal recourse claiming they were defrauded—and their criminal complaint.
Akdoğan drew backlash for threatening journalists with criminal complaints and lawsuits for reporting on an event that developed based on apparent reality.
In the text sent to members of the press, Akdoğan stated the following:
"The news content you have published on your website regarding my clients Farrukh Jumayev, Hasanalı Hasanov, and Jeyhun Shahverdiyev does not reflect the truth. I hereby notify you that the news content on your website that does not reflect the truth must be removed immediately, and that if it is not removed, we will file a criminal complaint with the prosecutor's office against those responsible, and we reserve all our rights to seek compensation due to the news content that does not reflect the truth"...