Nine press freedom and journalism organisations have issued a joint statement expressing deep concern over the escalating mistreatment of imprisoned Abzas Media journalists.

The full text of the statement:

Since November 2023, Azerbaijani authorities have detained at least 25 journalists in apparent retaliation for their reporting, with journalists linked to Abzas Media facing harsh conditions behind bars.

We, the undersigned press freedom, freedom of expression and journalists’ organisations express our deep concern at the escalating mistreatment of imprisoned Azerbaijani journalists from Abzas Media, and call on Azerbaijan’s authorities to commit to their international human rights obligations, including those under the UN Convention Against Torture and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.

We also demand that the authorities ensure humane and dignified conditions of detention, provide immediate access to medical care and legal representation, and uphold Azerbaijan’s international human rights commitments. 

Ulvi Hasanli, the director of Abzas Media, is being held in unacceptable conditions in the remote Umbaki prison, after being sentenced to nine years in prison by the Baku Court for Grave Crimes on June 20, 2025. Since his arrival, he has been denied clean clothing and forced to wear the same clothes he arrived in. He has also had to sleep on a broken bed, which has negatively impacted his health. According to his family and as reported by Meydan TV, two detention centre staff members assaulted him, resulting in torn clothes and a leg injury.

Although lawyers argue that a 2023 court ruling requires Hasanli to remain in the Baku Pretrial Detention Centre, the Penitentiary Service continues to hold him at a different location. Mr. Hasanli had previously gone on a nine-day hunger strike in protest against his illegal treatment. On July 20, he resumed his hunger strike as he has not been transferred even after two weeks since the court’s decision.

His female colleagues – Sevinj Vagifgizi, sentenced to nine years in prison in the same case, and Nargiz Absalamova, and Elnara Gasimova, who were sentenced to eight years – joined his hunger strike in solidarity and announced that it would be indefinite. Their main demand is for Hasanli to be returned to the Baku Investigative Pre-trial Detention Centre. On July 22, all three journalists were removed from their cells and placed in isolated rooms without showers, ventilation, or open windows. Absalamova was subjected to physical pressure by a senior prison official, resulting in visible injuries on her arms.

We call on Azerbaijani authorities to transfer Mr. Hasanli to the Baku Pretrial Detention Centre in compliance with a court order earlier adopted in this case. We also demand that his imprisoned colleagues are treated lawfully and that their rights are respected: arbitrary isolation, denial of basic needs, physical abuse, and use of coercive tactics against these individuals need to be stopped.

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The Abzas Media case started with arrests on November 20, 2023. On June 20, the Baku Court of Serious Crimes issued prison sentences: Ulvi Hasanli, Sevinj Vagifgizi, investigative journalist Hafiz Babali, and Azadliq Radio reporter Farid Mehralizade were sentenced to nine years each; Nargiz Absalamova and Elnara Gasimova were sentenced to eight years; and AbzasMedia coordinator Mahammad Kekalov was sentenced seven and a half years. The group was found guilty on charges which included currency smuggling, despite the fact that both the journalists and their legal teams argued that the investigation lacked credible evidence. The charges brought against the journalists are widely viewed as politically motivated, and formulated in retaliation for Abzas Media’s independent reporting on corruption and abuse of power by the Aliyev regime.

Signed by:

• Justice for Journalists Foundation 
• European Federation of Journalists (EFJ)
• International Press Institute (IPI)
• European Centre for Press and Media Freedom (ECPMF)
• Index on Censorship
• Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ)
• International Partnership for Human Rights (IPHR) 
• Reporters Without Borders (RSF)
• Rory Peck Trust (RPT)