Azerbaijani journalist Ulviyya Ali ‘threatened with rape’ by police in detention

Detained Azerbaijani journalist Ulviyya Guliyeva (Ali) has written a letter from prison, detailing her time in police custody, including two separates threats of rape by police officers.

Guliyeva was originally detained on 6 May as a suspect in the ongoing case against independent Azerbaijani media outlet Meydan TV, which she denies working with.

‘Everyone knows I have worked with Voice of America since 2019, not Meydan TV. If they had slandered 10 others in this case, they slandered me as the 11th, doubly’, she wrote.

Azerbaijan’s arrested several of Meydan TV’s journalists in December 2024, accusing them of smuggling money into Azerbaijan and supporting Armenia. The case came as part of an ongoing crackdown on journalists in the country.

Two more Azerbaijani journalists detained as media crackdown continues

Both journalists were reportedly brutally beaten during their detention.

OC MediaAytan Farhadova

‘Yes, most of those arrested are my friends. Yes, I protested their unlawful detentions. And yes, if I were a Meydan TV employee, I would proudly say so — I would not deny it!’, Guliyeva wrote in her letter from prison, which was shared by Toplum TV on Sunday.

Guliyeva’s letter went on to describe the subsequent search of her flat, during which she claimed police planted a wad of money in her wardrobe in order to accuse her of smuggling.

‘When drafting the protocol, I saw that one of the officers repeatedly gave silent nods to the investigator from across the room. Then a new officer, around 40–45 years old, who hadn’t participated in most of the search, said, “We haven’t checked the top of the wardrobe in the bedroom” ’, Guliyeva wrote.

‘We returned to the bedroom. They brought down items from the top of the wardrobe. From the front pocket of a suitcase I hadn’t touched since 4 January, they pulled out a wad of cash wrapped in a rubber band — about the thickness of Chekhov’s Ward №6. They held it out: “Whose is this?” I didn’t touch it and laughed loudly: “You’d know best — you planted it.” ’.

Following this, Guliyeva was transported to the Baku City Police Department, where she claimed she was violently assaulted. In one instance, listed in her letter, Guliyeva wrote that an officer punched her in the head over five times after she refused to give the police her passwords.

‘Seeing I wouldn’t give in, the cigarette-smoking “janitor” stood up. They each took a side of my head and began pulling my hair in opposite directions. The feeble one shouted, “Bring the taser.” They brought something and placed it on the table. When I still refused, he said, “I’ll ruin your ladylike composure.” That sentence made my stomach turn’, Guliyeva wrote.

‘We’ve long known what Azerbaijani police are “capable” of. They fabricate charges, beat people, and commit illegal acts. Apparently, they’re also capable of threatening to rape a woman they’ve accused’, she emphasised.

According to Guliyeva, since the beatings, she has had ‘persistent dull headaches, nausea, and vomiting’ — she previously had a benign tumour in her brain, which, while resolved, has required her to undergo annual check-ups.

The next day, after being transferred to the Khatai Temporary Detention Facility, a man in plainclothes claiming to be from the Interior Ministry visited Guliyev, again asking for her passwords.

‘He said, “Give the Telegram password”. I again refused and said, “Leave me alone. Call my lawyer”. He didn’t. Instead, he threatened me: “You’re an Azerbaijani woman — don’t act crazy. Don’t make me talk to you another way. Let’s be able to greet each other civilly if we meet again”. He lunged at me. There was nothing sensitive in my Telegram — I don’t even keep messages generally. So I didn’t resist further and gave it. But I want everyone to know: in the space of 24 hours, I was threatened with rape twice by Azerbaijani police’, Guliyeva wrote.

Following her detention, Guliyeva was remanded to pre-trial detention for one month and 29 days as part of the case against Meydan TV.

Prior to her arrest, Guliyeva actively covered the arrests and ongoing trials of journalists and activists in Azerbaijan, including most recently imprisoned politician Tofig Yagublu.

Imprisoned Azerbaijani politician Tofig Yagublu ends hunger strike after 40 days

Yagublu had been on hunger strike in protest against his sentencing on charges of fraud and forgery.

OC MediaAytan Farhadova