The jailed director of Abzas Media, Ulvi Hasanli, has sent a letter from prison describing what he says are arbitrary transfers, the theft of his personal belongings, unfair court rulings, and systematic torture of inmates.

Hasanli writes that on the morning of 26 June, at around 8am, the deputy head of the Baku Detention Facility (known locally as “Kürdaxanı”) Cavid Gulaliyev, along with a guard, entered his cell and carried out a transfer without prior notice.

“Cavid said: “Get ready, you’re going to Umbaki.” Not only was our transfer from Kürdaxanı unlawful, it was also a clear sign of hostile treatment. Everyone else had been told days in advance that they would be moved to another facility, but we were left unprepared.”

He says that because he had many books and belongings, he was unable to take everything with him:

“I left some items in Cell 3 of Block 8 at the Baku Detention Facility. Cavid Gulaliyev told me: “Either you’ll come back for them, or your relatives will collect them”.”

Hasanli alleges that two of his bags were taken away under the pretext of inspection, and that some items went missing.

Hasanli went on hunger strike after the transfer, and jailed women journalists from Abzas Media joined him in protest, but he was not returned to the Baku Detention Facility.

After a ruling by the Baku Court of Appeal on September 9 made it clear he would not be returned to the facility, Hasanli asked his relatives to collect his remaining belongings. But, he says, the outcome was the same:

“My relatives raised the issue with deputy chiefs Cavid Gulaliyev and Ahad Abdiyev. Not only were my stolen belongings not recovered, even the 27 books I left behind had “disappeared”.”

Hasanli also accuses prison staff of enjoying impunity:

“I once asked Cavid Gulaliyev, if someone outside beat or tortured another person, would they be arrested? He said, “Yes, of course, that person would be a criminal.” I told him: “Then you and the other officers who torture inmates are also committing crimes.” He didn’t like that. He said: “I’m not a criminal.” But this is the reality: ordinary citizens go to jail for theft, but staff at the Baku Detention Facility who steal remain in office, supposedly protecting the law. Chief Elnur Ismayilov has stolen from prisoners, Cavid Gulaliyev and Ceyhun Hajiyev have systematically tortured inmates, yet they stay in their posts. That means they can commit crimes and remain unpunished.”

Citing former Georgian president Mikheil Saakashvili, Hasanli recalls:

“A journalist once asked him: “How did you root out corruption in your country?” Saakashvili replied: “Because I didn’t take bribes.””

Hasanli concludes his letter by urging state bodies to pay genuine attention to prisoners’ conditions:

“The Ombudsman, the Prosecutor General’s Office, the Justice Minister should find the time to visit prisons. Not just to tick a box in their schedules, but to listen to prisoners’ real problems and solve them.”

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.