In Azerbaijan, 12 journalists, including Meydan TV employees, have appeared in court on trumped-up charges of financial crimes.
Twelve journalists, including staff from OCCRP's Meydan TV, have gone on trial in Azerbaijan on financial crime charges that international press freedom groups have called “trumped-up” and part of the government's efforts to silence critics.
Meydan TV, known for its hard-hitting coverage of corruption and human rights abuses in Azerbaijan, reported on Friday that the hearings were taking place at the Baku Court of Grave Crimes.
The six defendants are employees of this publication: Ramin Jabrayilzade (Deko), Aynur Ganbarova (Elgunash), Khayala Agayeva, Aytach Akhmadova (Tapdig), Natig Javadi, and Aysel Umudova. All were arrested in December 2024 during searches of their homes. Ulvi Tahirov, deputy director of the Baku School of Journalism, was detained the same day.
The investigation expanded from February to August 2025, when authorities detained five more journalists: Agha Shamshad, editor-in-chief of the news outlet Argument.az, freelancers Movlamli Fatima and Gahramanli Nurlan (Libre), former Voice of America (VOA) correspondent Ali Ulviyeh, and photojournalist Mukhtar Ahmad.
The group faces charges ranging from illegal entrepreneurship to money laundering and tax evasion. If found guilty, they face up to 12 years in prison. All twelve defendants deny the charges, claiming they are aimed at suppressing their journalistic work, Meydan TV reports.
Jeanne Cavelier, head of the Eastern Europe and Central Asia desk at Reporters Without Borders (RSF), told OCCRP that the charges were “blatantly fabricated” and called the trial “a classic example of judicial persecution.”
“We call on democratic countries to exert strong pressure on the Azerbaijani regime, including economic pressure, to ensure the immediate release of the Meydan TV journalists and all other journalists arbitrarily detained,” Cavelier added.
On Thursday, Arzu Abdullayeva, chair of the Azerbaijan National Committee of the Helsinki Citizens' Assembly, reportedly appealed to President Ilham Aliyev for a pardon.
“These people's activities were not directed against the state,” Abdullayeva told the Baku Press Club. “Their actions were related to their professional duties and the expression of opinion, which is a natural part of the work of journalists and civil society activists.”
The trial is the latest development in the intense crackdown on independent media in Azerbaijan, where more than two dozen journalists have been detained. Most of them face similar charges of financial crimes.
In June, a Baku court sentenced six employees of the investigative publication Abzas Media and a journalist from RFE/RL's Azerbaijani service to terms ranging from seven and a half to nine years after a similar trial.
In comments to OCCRP, RSF's Jeanne Cavelier also condemned the “brutal conditions of detention” the journalists reportedly faced, “including the use of violence.”
Some of the defendants alleged abuse. Ulviyya Ali's mother told OC Media that her daughter was beaten during her arrest in May. According to the human rights organization Frontline Defenders, friends reported that Ali's health had deteriorated in custody.
RSF ranked Azerbaijan 167th out of 180 countries in its 2025 World Press Freedom Index, accusing the government of “attempting to suppress the last independent media outlets and journalists who refuse to self-censor.”
