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TALLINN, Estonia -- A tribunal successful Azerbaijan connected Friday convicted a Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty writer and six others connected aggregate charges, handing down situation sentences ranging from 7 1/2 to 9 years successful prison, RFE/RL and section media reported.
The verdict against RFE/RL’s Farid Mehralizada and six journalists from Abzas Media, an autarkic Azerbaijani investigative outlet, marks the latest escalation successful the country's crackdown connected media. All 7 journalists person dismissed the charges arsenic politically motivated, and planetary rights groups person called for their release.
Mehralizada, a writer with RFE/RL's Azerbaijani work and an economist, was sentenced to 9 years successful prison, RFE/RL reported. Nine-year sentences were besides handed to Abzas Media's manager Ulvi Hasanli, main exertion Sevinj Abbasova (Vagifqizi) and investigative writer Hafiz Babali. Reporters Nargiz Absalamova and Elnara Gasimova were sentenced to 8 years successful prison, and lawman manager Mahammad Kekelov — to 7 1/2 years, Abzas Media said.
Reporters Without Borders (RSF) successful a connection Friday condemned the sentences arsenic “outrageous” and “the result of a purely governmental proceedings based connected fabricated charges, aimed astatine silencing voices that exposure corruption and injustice.”
“The Azerbaijani authorities whitethorn imprison journalists, but they cannot imprison the truth," the group’s editorial manager Anne Bocandé said. “RSF calls for the contiguous merchandise of each Abzas Media defendants and urges planetary actors to intensify unit connected Baku.”
RFE/RL President and CEO Stephen Capus successful a connection Friday said Mehralizada was “unjustifiably detained” and called for his release.
“Farid has already mislaid a large deal. Unjustifiably detained for much than a year, helium missed the commencement of his child, and present waits for elusive justice. Denying this antheral his cardinal rights is unnecessarily cruel. Instead of perpetuating this sham, it’s clip to reunite Farid with his family,” the connection read.
Six Abzas Media journalists were arrested successful November 2023. The authorities claimed that they had recovered 40,000 euros successful currency successful the outlet's bureau successful Azerbaijan's capital, Baku, and accused them of conspiring overseas currency into Azerbaijan.
Mehralizada was arrested successful May 2024 arsenic portion of the aforesaid case, adjacent though some him and Abzas Media said that helium ne'er worked for the outlet. Later that year, authorities levied further charges against Mehralizada and Azbas Media journalists, including amerciable entrepreneurship, taxation evasion, papers forgery and others.
In his closing connection to the court, which RFE/RL shared with The Associated Press, Mehralizada said that “the information is that I person not committed immoderate crime...Independent media is 1 of the top means of work to the state, the nation, and humanity. Unfortunately, journalism successful our state contiguous is astir equated with terrorism.”
Weeks earlier Mehralizada's arrest, successful March 2024, Azerbaijani authorities targeted different quality outlet, Toplum TV, with raids and arrests connected akin charges. In December 2024, Azerbaijani authorities arrested six much journalists connected smuggling charges, including 5 of those moving for the autarkic Meydan TV quality outlet.
Earlier this year, authorities withdrew property credentials from Voice of America and Bloomberg and unopen down the BBC's bureau successful Azerbaijan.
In a January 2025 report, Amnesty International said Azerbaijani authorities "have systematically silenced autarkic media done politically motivated arrests” and that those arrests, arsenic good arsenic shutting down autarkic quality outlets, “demonstrate Azerbaijan’s continued crackdown connected the close to state of look and media independence, with fabricated charges weaponized to stifle escaped media.”
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