Azerbaijan: Release arrested journalists
The crackdown on independent media in Azerbaijan has recently intensified.
On 20 November 2023, police raided the office of AbzasMedia in Baku. They claimed to have found 40,000 euros in cash, an alleged grant money brought into the country illegally. Ulvi Hasanli, the director of AbzasMedia alleged that the money had been planted by the police. He also reported being beaten and otherwise ill-treated in detention. Deputy director Mahammad Kekalov was reportedly held incommunicado for 48 hours and pressured to renounce his lawyer. They were denied visits by their family members and refused calls with their lawyers in the first three months of detention. AbzasMedia publications had previously covered alleged corrupt deals by companies connected with government officials. The outlet was reportedly planning further investigation on gold mine pollution and other human rights violations prior to the arrests.
In December, the court remanded Aziz Orujov, director of Kanal 13 and its anchor Shamo Eminov on charges of smuggling grant money (similar to those in the case of AbzasMedia). The court also ordered to block online access to Kanal 13, which had given platform to political opposition and dissenting voices and covered various human rights issues.
Simultaneously, the authorities also arrested at least three journalists covering corruption and human rights issues on charges of extortion (Article 182). They include Teymur Karimov, reporter and director of online news outlet Kanal11; Arshad Ibrahimov, the head of the news website Dunyaninsesi.az operating in Ganja, and Ibrahim Humbatov of Azerinfo.az.
On 7 March 2024, police raided one of the last remaining. independent news channels, Toplum TV, its partner organization, the Institute of Democratic Initiatives, and the Platform for the Third Republic, an opposition group detained about a dozen journalists and activists. Toplum TV founder Alasgar Mammadli and journalists Mushfig Jabbar remain in detention on accusations of smuggling money, while others arrested have been released pending trials.
In recent years, Azerbaijan adopted restrictive amendments regulating the work of media and non-governmental organizations to lay down ground for legal action and prosecution. The new media law adopted in 2022 imposes arbitrary barriers for media organizations to register and obtain funding. Most critical outlets and journalists are denied registration on arbitrary grounds. As a result, they are either forced to cease operations or become vulnerable to prosecution if they continue their work or accept financial contributions of grant money