US EditionAzerbaijan Jails Seven Journalists for Up to Nine Years in Press Crackdown
- On June 20, 2025, a Baku court sentenced seven journalists, including Farid Mehralizada, to prison terms from 7.5 to nine years for smuggling charges.
- The arrests and trial involve members of Abzas Media, a media organization dedicated to reporting on corruption and human rights issues, with many viewing the charges as driven by political motives.
- Mehralizada and six others, including Abzas founder Ulvi Hasanli and editor Sevinj Abbasova, denied wrongdoing and plan to appeal their convictions.
- RFE/RL CEO Stephen Capus denounced the trial as illegitimate and called for Mehralizada’s immediate release, while President Ilham Aliyev dismissed the critiques, maintaining that Azerbaijan upholds media freedom and unrestricted internet access.
- This case highlights ongoing international concerns about press freedom in Azerbaijan under Aliyev’s rule, with over 30 journalists detained in similar prosecutions.
35 Articles
35 Articles
Azerbaijan's Journalistic Crackdown: Media Freedom Under Siege
Seven journalists in Azerbaijan have been sentenced to lengthy prison terms for smuggling, in a case condemned as politically motivated by global press freedom advocates. Six are associated with Abzas Media, known for its focus on corruption. All denied the charges, pledging to appeal.
Azerbaijan: Up to nine years in prison for Sevinj Vagifgizi and her colleagues, RSF condemns outrageous sentencing
On 20 June, seven Azerbaijani journalists, including editor-in-chief Sevinj Vagifgizi, were sentenced to between seven and nine years in prison on trumped-up charges of “smuggling foreign currency” in the Abzas Media case. Reporters Without Borders (RSF) condemns this unfair court decision — a symbol of the authorities’ systematic repression of the independent press — and calls for their immediate release.
Baku Court Hands Radio Free Europe Journalist Mehralizada 9-Year Prison Term In Case Seen As Politically Motivated
A court in Azerbaijan has sentenced journalist and economist Farid Mehralizada to nine years in prison on charges he says are tied directly to his critical reporting for RFE/RL’s Azerbaijani Service, known locally as Azadliq Radiosu.
Azerbaijan hands down long prison terms to seven journalists amid media crackdown
A court in Azerbaijan sentenced seven journalists to jail terms ranging from 7-1/2 to nine years on Friday after finding them guilty of smuggling, in what international press freedom advocates have described as a politically motivated case.
Coverage Details
Bias Distribution
- 48% of the sources lean Left
To view factuality data please Upgrade to Premium
