Date of Birth: 18 January 1997
Detained Since: 6 December 2024
Affiliation: Independent journalist; reporter for Meydan TV; women’s rights activist

Charges:

• Conspiracy to commit bulk cash smuggling (Art. 206.3.2)

Additional charges announced on 28 August 2025:

• Conspiracy to commit illegal entrepreneurship in the form of an organised criminal group and in an aggravated and significant amount (Art. 192.3.2)

• Conspiracy to commit money laundering in the form of an organised criminal group and a substantial amount (Arts. 193-1.3.1, 193-1.3.2)

• Conspiracy to commit bulk cash smuggling in the form of an organised criminal group (Art. 206.4)

• Conspiracy to commit tax evasion in the form of an organised criminal group (Art. 213.2.1)

• Forgery and use of forged documents (Arts. 320.1, 320.2)

Conviction and Sentence:

• No conviction to date

• Trial ongoing before the Baku Assize Court as part of the consolidated “Meydan TV case”

Political Prisoner Status:

Khayala Aghayeva’s detention meets criteria (a) and (e) of PACE Resolution 1900 (2012):

• Detention violates freedom of expression and press freedom under the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR)

• Prosecution is politically motivated and forms part of a broader crackdown on independent media and civil society in Azerbaijan

International press-freedom and human-rights organisations regard her as a political prisoner and have called for her immediate release.

Summary:

Khayala Aghayeva is an Azerbaijani independent journalist and women’s rights activist who has worked as a reporter for Meydan TV since 2015. Throughout her career, she has faced repeated harassment, short-term detentions, and interference while covering protests and politically sensitive events. Her journalism has focused on social justice, gender equality, and state accountability.

She was detained on 6 December 2024 by the Baku Metropolitan General Police Department in connection with the criminal case publicly known as the “Meydan TV case.” During coordinated police operations, law-enforcement authorities conducted searches of journalists’ homes, seized personal and professional equipment, and placed several reporters in custody.

Initially charged with conspiracy to commit bulk cash smuggling, her case later saw a dramatic expansion of accusations, mirroring a pattern used in earlier politically motivated prosecutions of journalists and activists in Azerbaijan. Courts have repeatedly extended her pre-trial detention despite the absence of credible evidence and despite defence appeals.

Her arrest is widely viewed as part of a renewed crackdown on independent media that intensified from autumn 2023 onward, targeting journalists associated with non-state and exile-based media outlets. Observers note strong parallels with previous waves of repression, where financial-crime allegations were used to criminalise legitimate journalistic activity.

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