Azerbaijan is very upset about a June 5 report on CNN that Israeli troops had used the country as a staging area for attacks on Iran. The country’s government says that the report, based on anonymous sources, is both completely wrong and dangerous, as it risks drawing Azerbaijan into the conflict.
In this situation, most governments would issue a condemnatory statement and leave it at that. But Azerbaijan has gone a step farther, filing a defamation suit against CNN in Delaware last week. CNN’s response: “We stand by our reporting.”
The complaint acknowledges that this situation is unusual, and admits that the First Amendment gives Americans the right to criticize their own government without fear of liability. But, it argues that the same logic does not apply to a foreign government, “which is not accountable to the American electorate.”
To bring the case, Azerbaijan hired Wayne Dennison, a partner at Brown Rudnick who is best known for his work as part of Johnny Depp’s legal team in the case against Amber Heard.
In an interview, Dennison defended the suit, saying that his client is entitled to recourse for reckless reporting. “These untrue statements actually put lives at risk,” he said.
