The IPI global network today condemns the prison sentences handed out by a court in Baku to seven Azerbaijani journalists found guilty on politically motivated charges of “foreign currency smuggling”.
In its decision, the court sentenced journalists Ulvi Hasanli, Hafiz Babali, Farid Mehralizada and Sevinc Vaqifqizi to nine years in prison each, Mahammad Kekalov to seven years and six months, Nargiz Absalamova and Elnara Gasimova to eight years in prison.
“IPI condemns the prison sentences handed on Friday to seven Azerbaijani journalists, whose only crime was to report on high-level corruption involving Azerbaijan’s ruling elite,” said IPI Eastern Europe Advocacy Lead Karol Łuczka. “The charges of ‘smuggling foreign currency’ which were formulated against them have no basis in reality and are no more than a badly designed pretext to jail journalists, who revealed facts which seriously questioned the integrity of those in power. The lengthy prison sentences handed to them show an utter disrespect for basic principles of press freedom on the part of Azerbaijani authorities led by President Ilham Aliyev.”
The sentences delivered on Friday by the Baku Court of Serious Crimes follow a series of arrests of journalists in Azerbaijan, which began in November 2023 with the detention of the founder and of the editor-in-chief of Abzas Media, Ulvi Hasanli and Sevinc Vaqifqizi.
In the following months, several more journalists were arrested. This included Mahammad Kekalov, Nargiz Absalamova and Elnara Gasimova, all of whom worked for Abzas Media, an investigative outlet based in Baku which uncovered high-level corruption by the ruling elite of Azerbaijan.
Journalist Farid Mehralizada was detained in May 2024 and also accused of “smuggling foreign currency”, allegedly for the benefit of Abzas Media. Following his arrest the outlet issued a statement explaining that Mehralizada had no direct involvement with its work. The journalist is affiliated to Azadliq Radiosu, the Azerbaijani branch of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) and was interviewed by Abzas Media in the past as an expert.
Hafiz Babali was detained in December 2023 and placed in pre-trial detention, also on charges of “smuggling foreign currency”. Babali led the economics section of Turan, an independent Baku-based news agency. It is unclear on what grounds authorities claim that he was involved in alleged illegal activities for the benefit of Abzas Media.
Several more journalists were detained in Azerbaijan in the following months, on various charges, with close to 20 still awaiting trial. According to IPI monitoring, following this series of arrests at least 25 media workers remain behind bars across Azerbaijan.