Azerbaijan
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Fatima Movlamli, an independent Azerbaijani journalist, has been arrested as a part of the ongoing Meydan TV case. She is the tenth journalist to be detained on charges of smuggling.
The pro-government media outlet Oxu.az reported on Friday morning that Movlamli would be brought to court based on a submission by the investigative body working on the Meydan TV case.
Shortly after, the Internal Affairs Ministry’s press service confirmed her arrest to local media.
According to posts shared on social media, Movlamli’s house was raided and €2,000 ($2,100) was confiscated, along with both her and her sister’s phone. Her family later said that this money did not belong to Movlamli.
Movlamli’s arrest marks the third detention in the Meydan TV case in February.
On 20 February, independent journalist Nurlan (Libre) Gahramanli was likewise detained in the same case, also on charges of smuggling. He was remanded to one month and 17 days in pre-trial detention.
Prior to this, on 5 February, Meydan TV journalist Shamshad Agha was arrested on charges of smuggling. He was remanded for two months and one day to pre-trial detention.
On 6 December 2024, Meydan TV employees Ramin Jabrailzade, Aynur Ganbarova, Aysel Umudova, Aytaj Ahmadova, Khayala Agayeva, and Natig Javadli were detained. They were charged with smuggling committed by a group of persons by prior conspiracy. Under this article, they were remanded to four months of pretrial detention during the investigation.
All those arrested in the Meydan TV case have proclaimed their innocence, alleging the charges are politically-motivated.
Explainer | Meydan TV becomes Azerbaijan’s latest independent media outlet to be repressed
Azerbaijan’s crackdown on independent media continues with the arrest of seven of Meydan TV’s journalists and freelancers on charges of smuggling and supporting Armenia. The campaign against Meydan TV began on 6 December with the arrest of journalist Ramin Jabrayilzada, also known as Deko. A…
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