Caspian Wire: Stand with imprisoned Azerbaijani journalists | August 2025
Azerbaijan’s ongoing press freedom crackdown has escalated this August. Journalists, activists, and students face arbitrary arrests, abuse, and deportation threats.
FVC joins a campaign in partnership with Reporters Without Borders and exiled Azerbaijani media
The campaign highlights the inhumane prison conditions of journalist Sevinj Vagifgizi, editor-in-chief of Abzas Media and former RSF Berlin fellow, who has been denied a simple electric fan despite the extreme heat inside Baku Pretrial Detention Center. RSF and Free Voices Collective, Meydan TV, Toplum TV & Qazetci have signed a letter of solidarity and are calling on the public to participate in the campaign by writing letters of solidarity to Sevinj and her fellow imprisoned colleagues. Letters of support can be submitted here.
Another journalist arrested in Meydan TV case
On August 27, photojournalist Ahmad Mukhtar was arrested in connection with the Meydan TV case. The following day, on August 28, Baku’s Khatai District Court ordered a 40-day pretrial detention against him. He is now the 12th person detained as part of the Meydan TV case. Mukhtar was previously detained and sentenced to 20 days in administrative detention in December 2024 when police rounded up Meydan TV’s Baku team.
On August 28, the investigation into Meydan TV cases was concluded. Authorities expanded the charges against all those already arrested in the case. Arrested journalists are now facing prosecution under eight different articles of the Criminal Code, including “illegal entrepreneurship,” “money laundering,” “smuggling,” “tax evasion,” and “document forgery,” many of them carrying harsher penalties if committed by an “organized group.”
Azerbaijani graduate student facing deportation to home country
Nanaxanim (Nana) Babazade, a graduate anthropology student at Istanbul University, was detained on August 21 for participating in protests against rising university cafeteria prices. Instead of awaiting the completion of her legal appeal process, authorities are attempting to deport her back to Azerbaijan.
Nana was physically assaulted during her arrest according to her lawyer Ahmet Baran Çelik, and verbally abused due to her clothing. At the deportation center, authorities pressured her into signing a “voluntary return” form, subjecting her to humiliating conditions such as being forced to sit in a chair for 11 hours. She was also denied food suited to her ethical vegan diet and medical treatment, kept strip-searched, and prevented from meeting her lawyer.
Rights defenders denounce the deportation as a grave violation of human rights. They emphasize that Nana’s identity as a vegan, women’s rights, and LGBT+ activist places her in severe danger if forced to return to Azerbaijan. The deportation attempt is unfolding before the legal appeal deadline has even passed.
Jailed Meydan TV staff warn of fabricated charges
Imprisoned journalists from Meydan TV have issued a joint statement, accusing the authorities of preparing new fabricated charges against them. They report that investigators are coercing testimonies and falsely linking unrelated individuals to the outlet to legitimize smuggling charges.
The statement highlights the case of Ulvi Tahirov, a representative of the Baku School of Journalism (BJM), and who was arrested together with the outlet’s team, stressing that he has no connection to Meydan TV. And that his only “offense” is a friendship with Meydan TV’s editor-in-chief, Aynur Elgunesh.
The imprisoned reporters allege that, unable to substantiate earlier accusations, the government is now fabricating financial crimes. They point to dubious documents suggesting BJM received nearly 1 million AZN [≈589k USD], alongside renewed allegations of tax evasion worth 80,000 AZN [≈47k USD].
The journalists demand dignity in their treatment and insist that the work of BJM must not be conflated with that of Meydan TV.
The statement concludes with a reminder: “Journalism is not a crime.”
Abzas Media Director nominated for Václav Havel Human Rights Prize
Ulvi Hasanli, imprisoned director of Abzas Media, has been shortlisted for the 2025 Václav Havel Human Rights Prize. The selection was announced in Prague during a meeting chaired by Theodoros Rousopoulos, president of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE).
In June 2025, Hasanli was sentenced to nine years in prison on politically motivated charges.
The winner of this year’s Václav Havel Prize will be announced on September 29 at the opening of PACE’s autumn plenary session in Strasbourg.
Prisoner reports beatings in Baku Detention Center
Dashgina Efendiyeva, held at the Baku Investigative Detention Center, has accused prison authorities and guards of severely beating her. The allegations were detailed in a letter she sent to Abzas Media.
According to Efendiyeva, the incident occurred on August 14, when she attempted to share sweets she had prepared with inmates in neighboring cells. A dispute broke out after guard Jahan Ibrahimli refused to deliver the food, despite previous instances where such sharing had been allowed.
She recounted that after insisting on her request and challenging the guard’s refusal, the situation escalated. The guard allegedly insulted her, tied a cloth over her face, and subjected her to physical abuse.
Police violence reported against women distributing religious offerings
On August 17, seven women—Nigar Baghirova (38), Aytan Ibrahimova (41), Khoshgadam Guliyeva (50), Arzu Huseynova (52), and Shahla Farajova (44) were detained while distributing religious offerings and protesting in support of Palestine.
One of the detained women, Shahla Farajova, later faced a raid on her home. Witnesses claim that masked special forces entered after disabling security cameras and planted items—including a flash drive, an unfamiliar religious book, and narcotics allegedly identified as methamphetamine—inside her belongings and refrigerator.
Meanwhile, Nigar Baghirova, described police using force, dragging her and a child into a car, threatening sexual violence, forcibly removing her hijab, and coercing her to sign documents. Shargiyya Sadigova and Aytan Ibrahimova, reported similar abuses, including physical assault, psychological intimidation, and denial of legal counsel.
The women were charged with hooliganism and organizing actions that allegedly violated public order, with pre-trial detention set for three months. Investigators accused them of using religious slogans, flags, and speeches to incite hatred or disrupt public order—allegations the women deny.
Blogger behind Kanal21 detained
Blogger Ilhami Nasibov, 25, and administrator of the online platform Kanal21.az was sentenced to four months pre-trial detention.
Authorities allege that the blogger attempted to extort money from several individuals by threatening to publish damaging information about them.
Kanal21.az is known for highlighting citizens’ social and economic hardships. Most recently, it reported on villagers protesting a lack of access to water.
Afiaddin Mammadov held in harsh prison conditions
Afiaddin Mammadov, chair of the Confederation of Workers’ Desk Trade Unions, is being held under severe and intolerable conditions at Prison No. 2, where he is currently serving his sentence as per information shared by Mammadov’s relatives.
Family members said his conditions have not improved, despite promises, worsening his psychological state. They noted that his phone calls are frequently cut off whenever he attempts to describe his situation in detail.
Mammadov was sentenced on January 14, 2025, to eight years in prison on charges including “intentional infliction of serious injury,” “hooliganism,” and “illegal possession of weapons.” Rights groups say these accusations are fabricated and politically motivated.
The crackdown on “Workers’ Desk” began in August 2023, following courier workers’ protests. Over the following months, several members of the movement were arrested on charges ranging from “drug possession” to “administrative violations.”
Trial preparations begin for activist Ahmad Mammadli
On August 21, the Baku Court on Grave Crimes held a preliminary hearing in the case of civic activist Ahmad Mammadli.
During the session, defense lawyer Elchin Sadigov filed motions to terminate the case and replace pre-trial detention with house arrest. Both requests were rejected, and the court ruled to proceed to trial. The next hearing is scheduled for September 3.
Mammadli was arrested in May 2025, accused of stabbing a man following a dispute in a taxi. He denies the charges, calling them fabricated. He is the founder of a recently launched YouTube platform “Yoldash Media.”
U.S. State Department highlights continued crackdown on press freedom
The U.S. State Department’s 2024 Human Rights Report underscores that there has been no significant improvement in Azerbaijan’s human rights situation. The document stresses that the government continues to target independent voices, particularly journalists investigating corruption.
The report pays special attention to the “Abzas Media case”, noting that the arrests of editor-in-chief Sevinc Vagifgizi and director Ulvi Hasnli in November 2023 on “currency smuggling” charges were directly linked to their professional activities.
The report also documents Hasanli’s testimony from prison, describing systemic abuse for which Hasanli himself was reprimanded.
Similarly, the report mentions how journalist Vagifgizi’s prison communications with her family were restricted after she spoke out about violence against female inmates.
The State Department concludes that, despite constitutional guarantees of free expression, Azerbaijan’s authorities systematically violate media freedoms. Journalists, editors, and independent bloggers face harassment, threats, physical violence, and arbitrary detention. Even those working abroad, along with their families, have been pressured into silence.
The report also points to the restrictive 2022 Media Law, which has been used to impose sweeping limitations on domestic and exiled media workers, bloggers, and activists.
Appeal hearing in the case of Abzas Media – protests, violations
At the August 12 Baku Court of Appeals hearing for the “Abzas Media” case, defense motions were denied, and female journalists were subjected to violence and removed from the courtroom. Lawyers requested the transfer of detained defendants and equal seating for journalists, but the judge rejected both motions. Female reporters protested that they could not hear proceedings and accused the judge of bias, calling him “a servant of Ilham Aliyev.” Defendants warned they would not attend future hearings if conditions remain the same. The next hearing is set for August 26.
Lawyer contact denied for Kekalov in Abzas Media Case
Mohammad Kekalov, arrested in connection with the “Abzas Media case,” has been denied the right to contact his lawyer by phone while held at the Umbaki Penitentiary Complex. Prison staff reportedly confiscated his phone and told him he could only call his lawyer with the warden’s permission.
Kekalov was sentenced on June 20, 2025, to 7 years and 6 months in prison, facing eight charges including smuggling and financial crimes. Other defendants in the case, including journalists and media staff, received sentences ranging from 8 to 9 years. All accused reject the charges, claiming their arrests are politically motivated due to anti-corruption investigations.
Missing member of the opposition Popular Front was transferred to Umbaki prison
On August 4, Sahib Mammadzade, a jailed member of the opposition Popular Front party, informed his family he was transferred to a different prison facility after his family said they were unable to get any news of Mammadzade for several days. Mammadzade was arrested in March 2024 and charged with drug possession. He was first sentenced to six years and 6 months. In March 2025, his sentence was reduced to three years and six months. The opposition political activist refutes the charges. According to the information by the Popular Front party, some 20 of its members are either in pretrial detention or were sentenced on political grounds.
Academic subjected to violence
Fazil Gasimov, an Azerbaijani PhD student at Istanbul University who has been imprisoned for two years, says he was subjected to violence at the Umbaki Penitentiary Complex, where he is currently being held. The scholar shared this during an appeal court on August 4. Gasimov recalled how two men twisted his arms behind his back and beat him after forcibly taking away several documents Gasimov had prepared to present during the hearing. Gasimov was arrested in August 2023 as part of an ongoing investigation (at the time) against academic, Gubad Ibadoglu. Gasimov was then held in pretrial detention until April 2025, when the young scholar was sentenced to nine years behind bars on bogus criminal charges.
Criminal case hearing begins against Mahammad Mirzali
On August 1, the trial of a France-based blogger, Mahammad Mirzali, started. The blogger is being tried in absentia. Mirzali is being accused of incitement to mass riots and non‑compliance with authorities’ demands and of making open calls for the forcible seizure of state power. On July 30, another blogger, Gabil Mammadov, was sentenced in absentia to 16 years. Similar to Mirzali, Mammadov was also accused of making alleged calls for mass unrest and activities against the state. On July 28, another foreign-based blogger, Imameddin Alimanov, was sentenced in absentia to 7 years. Authorities have issued arrest warrants for a handful of other bloggers living abroad, among them, Gurban Mammadov, Suleyman Suleymanli, Elshad Mammadov, and Orkhan Aghayev. All stand accused of incitement, mass protest promotion, leaking state secrets, fraud, and other alleged crimes. None accepts the charges, calling them politically motivated.
Activist was sent into pre-trial detention
Although public activist Anar Abdulla is one of the defendants in the criminal case related to the Election Monitoring and Democracy Studies Center (EMDS), until now, the preventive measure against him has been police supervision. However, on August 4, the Baku Court for Grave Crimes changed that decision and ruled to place him under pretrial detention. The prosecutor claimed Abdulla was not complying with the conditions of his police supervision, which was objected to by Abdulla’s lawyer. Despite the objections, the judicial panel granted the prosecutor’s motion, thereby changing the preventive measure against the public activist to pretrial detention.
Health of an activist deteriorates whilst in pretrial detention
Social worker Zamin Zaki, who has been placed under pretrial detention on charges related to a “NGO case,” is reportedly facing serious health issues. Zaki, who has a medical history of rheumatism, is said to have seen his condition worsen due to being held in a damp cell and recent extreme heat, causing leg stiffness and mobility problems. Continuous cigarette smoke in his cell is reportedly making it difficult for him to breathe. Zaki was arrested and sent into three months and four days of pretrial detention in April 2025. Before his arrest, Zaki had undergone eye surgery, and ongoing eye pain, pressure, and headaches are further affecting his physical and psychological well-being. His pre-trial detention was extended in July by another three months. Zaki faces charges of large-scale money laundering, abuse of power with serious consequences, and official forgery.
Rights abuses alleged in Bakhtiyar Hajiyev’s Imprisonment
The family of imprisoned activist Bakhtiyar Hajiyev says his detention conditions in Prison No. 6 involve serious human rights violations, including denial of lawyer access, isolation from family, and exposure to psychological and physical pressure. They report his health is deteriorating, he is being denied adequate medical care, and test results from recent examinations have not been provided. Hajiyev has described his situation as “captivity” and warned he may attempt suicide if conditions persist, accusing prison authorities of deliberate hostility. Arrested in December 2022 and later charged with multiple economic and smuggling offenses, Hajiyev was sentenced in January 2025 to 10 years in prison. He rejects the charges as politically motivated, a view shared by local and international rights groups.
Bahruz Samadov’s appeal denied in closed Baku hearing
Family and friends of peace activist Bahruz Samadov were barred from attending the initial hearing of his appeal, with the court later deciding to hold the session behind closed doors. The hearing was postponed to August 13, which will also be closed to the public.
On August 13, Bahruz Samadov’s appeal against his 15-year sentence was heard at the Baku Court of Appeals in a closed session. Over 20 motions were submitted, but none were approved. Despite attending the hearing, Samadov did not speak. His grandmother noted that he questions why he remains imprisoned despite a signed peace agreement.
Samadov was arrested on August 21, 2024, by the State Security Service on treason charges, following a search of his home and seizure of personal items. On June 23, 2025, he was sentenced to 15 years in prison in a closed trial. He denies the charges, and both local and international human rights groups consider his case politically motivated.
Imprisoned former MP’s health condition critical, family says
The family of jailed economist and former MP Nazim Beydemirli warns his life is at risk due to rapidly worsening health, with symptoms of severe weakness and suspected pneumonia, but no adequate medical care in prison. Arrested in July 2023 on extortion charges he denies, Beydemirli claims he was targeted for supporting environmental protests in Soyudlu. Local rights groups say his imprisonment is politically motivated; in September 2024, he was sentenced to eight years.
Azerbaijan ombudswoman ignores complaint by war veteran
A complaint to Azerbaijan’s Ombudswoman regarding the detention conditions of a war veteran, activist, and the former head of the “Young Veterans” Public Union Haji Valiyev, has yielded no results, according to his lawyer, Aqil Layij. Instead of inspecting Valiyev’s situation, the Ombudsman forwarded the appeal to the Prosecutor General’s Office, which then sent it to the Sabunchu District Prosecutor’s Office, none of which have taken action since the July 1 submission.
Valiyev was first detained on March 31, 2025. He was sentenced to 22 days in pretrial detention on April 1, 2025, on hooliganism and property damage charges. This period was extended by two months on April 18. The veteran denies the charges. If convicted, he faces a prison sentence of up to five years.
Haci Valiyev is known for his critical posts on social media. He had reportedly been detained and released on previous occasions. He has been particularly active in publicizing the problems faced by veterans who lost their health in the Second Karabakh War and the martyrs’ families.
In a recent interview, Valiyev stated that his detention was directly linked to his outspoken criticism of the government’s treatment of war veterans. “I was arrested for my civic work, for exposing the state’s neglect of veterans. I was held on fabricated charges. In protest, I declared a hunger strike,” he said.
He described severe mistreatment during custody. On June 26 – Armed Forces Day, he was placed in solitary confinement, where he reported being subjected to violence by prison staff. “Every day in the cell brought humiliation and torture. My head was injured; the swelling remains,” he recounted.
Despite anticipating his arrest, Vəliyev emphasized that silencing voices like his will not erase the grievances of veterans.
The “Young Veterans” Public Union was established in 2021 under the “Karabakh Veterans” Public Union. On May 28 of this year, the organization ceased its operations. On August 18, Valiyev’s pretrial detention was extended by another twenty days.
The trial of Toplum TV journalists resumed on August 4
On August 4, the Baku Court of Grave Crimes continued hearings in the “Toplum TV case,” but witness testimonies were postponed as the State Tax Service’s civil claim took longer to justify. The service’s representative, acting as plaintiff, said the alleged 79,000-manat tax debt stemmed from missing employment contracts and rental agreements, though could not specify details. Defense lawyers challenged the calculation, noting the indictment fails to show each defendant’s alleged individual damage to the state budget. A motion to remove the State Tax Service as plaintiff was rejected. An IDI representative quipped that only presidential aide Hikmet Hajiyev might know the exact figures, recalling Hajiyev’s previous public remark that he could disclose the amounts related to the arrests.
Changes to the law on the Media approved by the president, Ilham Aliyev
Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev has approved new amendments to the “Law on Media,” expanding regulatory requirements for media outlets, information agencies, and foreign press. The changes introduce stricter rules for registration, prohibit media names that are misleading or contrary to public order and morality, and bar unregistered print media from publication—violations may incur fines up to 5,000AZN. Information agencies must now hold contracts with at least 20 media outlets and have five accredited journalists abroad, while new provisions also target the spread of false information. First enacted in 2021 and widely criticized by journalists and international organizations, the law’s latest revisions have drawn further backlash, with about 29 journalists currently imprisoned in Azerbaijan.