EU says imprisonment of Azerbaijan’s Abzas Media team a ‘worrying development’
The EU has described Azerbaijan’s imprisonment of the team behind independent news outlet Abzas Media as a ‘worrying development’, in a muted statement. In contrast, international rights groups have reacted with outrage at the sentencing, with Amnesty International taking aim at the EU for putting gas contracts above human rights.
On 20 June, the Baku Grave Crimes Court sentenced Abzas Media’s director, Ulvi Hasanli, editor-in-chief, Sevinj Abbasova (Vagifgizi), and investigative journalist Hafiz Babali to nine years in prison on charges of smuggling foreign currency as a group and money laundering. Journalists Nargiz Absalamova and Elnara Gasimova were sentenced to eight years, and Mahammad Kekalov, a coordinator at Abzas, was sentenced to seven and a half years of prison. Farid Mehralizada, a journalist at RFE/RL, was also sentenced to nine years. He was detained in June 2024 as part of the case against Abzas Media.
On Monday, the EU’s Diplomatic Service issued a brief statement calling the heavy prison sentences a ‘worrying development’.
‘Independent journalism plays a vital role in upholding transparency, accountability, and informed public discourse’, the statement read, adding that the EU ‘calls on Azerbaijan to respect human rights and fundamental freedoms, uphold its international obligations, and take immediate steps to ensure a safe and enabling environment for all journalists and media workers’.
They said the EU ‘remains committed to continue the dialogue and cooperation on human rights with Azerbaijan.’
In contrast, several international rights organisations have issued statements condemning the Azerbaijani government’s crackdown on independent media outlet.
Amnesty International condemned what they said were fabricated charges against journalists, with Eastern Europe and Central Asia Director Marie Struthers saying it served as an ‘example of how Azerbaijan’s judicial system is being weaponised to muzzle independent journalism’.
She also condemned what they said was a lack of a ‘united, principled stand against [repression in Azerbaijan] from the international community, in defence of human rights’.
‘In stark contrast, major actors like the European Union persist in actively courting President Ilham Aliyev in search of lucrative gas deals’, Struthers added.
The day of their sentencing, Reporters Without Borders (RSF) issued a condemnation, saying the trial ‘epitomises Azerbaijan’s systematic crackdown on independent journalism’. They also called on international actors to ‘intensify pressure on Baku’.
‘These outrageous prison terms — from seven to nine years — are the outcome of a purely political trial based on fabricated charges, aimed at silencing voices that expose corruption and injustice. Sevinj Vagifgizi’s courage, from returning knowingly to face arrest to standing firm in court, embodies the highest values of journalism. ’
The International Press Institute on Monday condemned the court’s ruling, with their Eastern Europe Advocacy Lead, Karol Łuczka, saying the journalists’ ‘only crime was to report on high-level corruption involving Azerbaijan’s ruling elite’.
‘The charges of “smuggling foreign currency” which were formulated against them have no basis in reality and are no more than a badly designed pretext to jail journalists, who revealed facts which seriously questioned the integrity of those in power’, Łuczka said.
‘The lengthy prison sentences handed to them show an utter disrespect for basic principles of press freedom on the part of Azerbaijani authorities led by President Ilham Aliyev.’
On Monday, the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) decried Azerbaijan’s crackdown on freedom of expression and media, saying ‘More than 20 leading Azerbaijani journalists have been jailed on charges of receiving funds from Western donors since late 2023’.
‘Azerbaijan was the world’s 10th worst jailer with 13 journalists behind bars in CPJ’s latest annual prison census on December 1, 2024’, the organisation said.
The CPJ has also criticised the Azerbaijani government’s persecution of journalists from other independent news outlets, including Meydan TV, Toplum TV, and Kanal 13.
They also condemned Azerbaijan’s sentencing of researcher and OC Media contributor Bahruz Samadov to 15 years in prison on charges of treason.
Days before his sentencing, Samadov reportedly attempted to take his own life while in detention, only to be saved by another inmate. He has since been on hunger strike in protest against his arrest.
‘The heavy sentences meted out to seven journalists in the Abzas Media case and to columnist Bahruz Samadov signal Azerbaijani authorities’ intent to wipe out what remains of independent coverage’, said Gulnoza Said, the CPJ’s Europe and Central Asia programme coordinator. ‘Reports that Samadov has attempted suicide are particularly concerning. Authorities should ensure Samadov’s wellbeing and immediately release all wrongly jailed journalists.’
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