On 9 September, the Baku Court of Appeal held the final hearing in the “Abzas Media case.”

The session, chaired by Judge Zafar Ahmadov, upheld the verdict issued earlier by the Baku Serious Crimes Court.

As the panel delivered its final decision after deliberation, female journalists from Abzas Media — Sevinj Vagifgizi, Nargiz Absalamova and Elnara Gasimova — recited a verse from a poem by Azerbaijani writer Mammad Said Ordubadi.

At the same time, they held placards reading: “Aliyev, declare your income!”, “Corruption is a crime, journalism is not!”and “Free media cannot be silenced!”. A confrontation broke out when Penitentiary Service officers attempted to seize the signs, with convoy staff using violence against the female journalists.

Since November 2023, Abzas Media director Ulvi Hasanli, editor-in-chief Sevinc Vagifgizi, project coordinator Mahammad Kekalov, investigative journalist Hafiz Babali, reporters Elnara Gasimova and Nargiz Absalamova, and RFE/RL contributor and economist Farid Mehralizade have been in custody.

They are accused of smuggling and serious financial crimes, allegations they and their supporters, both in Azerbaijan and internationally, reject as politically motivated and linked to their journalistic work.

The pre-trial and trial phases together have lasted nearly two years.

On June 20, the Baku Serious Crimes Court sentenced Hasanli, Vagifgizi, Babali and Mehralizade to nine years in prison; Absalamova and Gasimova to eight years; and Kekalov to seven years and six months.