The International Press Institute (IPI) today condemns the recent Supreme Court verdicts upholding politically-motivated prison sentences handed down to seven journalists in the so-called “Abzas Media case.” These rulings by Azerbaijan’s Supreme Court serve the Aliyev regime’s longstanding goal of wiping out press freedom and independent journalism within the country.
With these latest rulings, all domestic legal remedies for the journalists from Abzas Media and Radio Free Europe (RFE/LR) have now been exhausted. IPI will continue to advocate for their release and supports all efforts to secure justice, including taking the case to the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR).
On 3 April, the Supreme Court in Baku upheld the original sentences handed down to Abzas Media’s editor-in-chief Sevinj Vagifgizi, journalists Nargiz Absalamova and Elnara Gasimova, and freelancer contributor Hafiz Babali. They were arrested on what are widely regarded politically motivated and fabricated charges including currency smuggling, money laundering, and tax evasion – allegedly linked to the receipt of Western donor funding.
This final ruling follows Supreme Court hearings in early March concerning Abzas Media director Ulvi Hasanli, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) contributor Farid Mehralizade, and Hasanli’s assistant and Abzas Media’s project coordinator, Mohamed Kekalov. According to Abzas Media, with this decision, “the doors of domestic justice have been slammed shut, leaving our colleagues to face a combined 57 years in prison.”
Under the final rulings, Hasanli, Vagifgizi, Babali, and Mehralizade were each sentenced to nine years in prison; Absalamova and Gasimova to eight years; and Kekalov to seven years and six months.
In 2023, police raided Abzas Media’s office, claiming to have found €40,000 in cash and alleging that the outlet had received illegal funding from Western countries. Over the next three months, six journalists were arrested. In 2024, Mehralizada was also detained, although both he and Abzas Media denied that he had involvement with the outlet. All journalists have been unjustly held in custody in pre-trial detention, until prison sentences were handed down in June 2025.
While in custody, the journalists reported being subjected to mistreatment. Hasanli was reportedly denied clean clothing, had to sleep on a broken bed and two detention centre staff members physically assaulted him, resulting in an injury. Hasanli spent 17 days on a hunger strike ending it in the beginning of August 2025 amidst growing concern for his health.
All three women journalists from Abzas Media, Vaqifqizi, Absalamova and Gasimova have faced retaliation and punishment at the hands of prison guards. After they went on a hunger strike in solidarity with Hasanli, guards placed them in isolated rooms without showers, ventilation, or open windows. Absalamova was reportedly subjected to physical assault by a senior prison official, resulting in visible injuries on her arms.
According to the Council of Europe’s Safety of Journalists Platform, which IPI is a partner of, at least 36 journalists are currently imprisoned in Azerbaijan, making the country the largest jailer of journalists in the region, with many held in dire conditions.
The IPI global network stands in solidarity with Abzas Media and RFE/RL teams in the face of ongoing legal persecution, as well as all jailed Azerbaijani journalists.
In the wake of the latest court verdict, IPI reiterates our call for their immediate and unconditional release and calls on the international community to exert meaningful pressure on Azerbaijan to hold the authorities accountable for their unjust imprisonment of journalists.