An Azerbaijani court has handed down an 18-month suspended sentence for a newspaper editor convicted of libeling the interior minister, RFE/RL's Azerbaijani Service reports.
The court on Wednesday also ordered that the salary of Ayyub Karimov, editor in chief of the newspaper "Femida 007," be garnished by 15 percent for the length of his sentence.
Azerbaijani Interior Minister Ramil Usubov filed the libel lawsuit against Karimov in January, claiming that some of Karimov's articles printed in the "Azadlyg" and "Femida 007" newspapers were inaccurate and damaged his dignity and honor.
Karimov pleaded not guilty and vowed to appeal the verdict.