“GEGHARD”
SCIENTIFIC ANALYTICAL
FOUNDATION
2026
2026
2025-02-06
The authorities of Azerbaijan have consistently repressed independent journalists. The persecution of journalists in Baku has reached such a scale that international organizations for the protection of journalists have called on the Azerbaijani authorities to immediately release detained journalists and to halt the pressure on independent media.
Back in 2023, the director of the Abzas Media website, Ulvi Hasanli, was arrested. His apartment and the Abzas Media office were searched, where, according to a statement released by police, 40,000 euros were found. Later, deputy director Mahammad Kekalov was detained, and the next day, upon returning from abroad, the website’s editor-in-chief, Sevinj Vagifgizi, was arrested at the airport. It should be noted that journalists Nargiz Absalamova, Elnara Gasimova, and investigative journalist Hafiz Babali were also arrested in connection with the same case.
The journalists were charged under several articles of the Criminal Code, including the legalization of criminally obtained property, smuggling, the use of forged documents, tax evasion, and more. None of the accused accepted the charges, insisting that their arrests were linked to their professional activities.
Repression against women in Azerbaijani detention centers deserves particular attention. Recently, Azerbaijani opposition websites reported that Adalat Gurbanov, the head of the women’s section of the Baku pretrial detention center, had beaten six female prisoners held in cell 48.
The arrested editor-in-chief of Abzas Media, Sevinj Vagifgizi, reported that after the beating, the head of the women’s section of the detention center transferred the women to cells with worse conditions. The editor-in-chief also stated that female political prisoners were threatened and instructed to remain silent about the abuse they had suffered.
Lawyers have also spoken about the poor detention conditions of female journalists. In an interview, Sevinj Vagifgizi’s lawyer stated that there is no heating in the detention facilities at all, as the heating system was broken down.
The lawyer of Abzas Media employee Nargiz Absalamova reported that due to the deplorable conditions, her client has developed health problems.
The facts show that the right to independent journalism in the Republic of Azerbaijan is not limited to arrests alone. Journalists are subjected to inhumane treatment in detention centers. Notably, female journalists also fall victim to violence and torture. Through these methods, the Aliyev regime seeks to cleanse the country of independent journalists, attempting to further strengthen the authoritarian system in Azerbaijan.