Press watchdog Reporters Without Borders slammed the financial crimes charges as “blatantly fabricated” and demanded the journalists’ “immediate release.”
Twelve journalists, including staff at OCCRP’s member center Meydan TV, have gone on trial in Azerbaijan, facing financial crimes charges that international press freedom groups have condemned as “fabricated” and as being 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 proceedings were underway at the Baku Court of Grave Crimes.
Six of the defendants are staff members of the outlet: Ramin Jabrayilzada (Deko), Aynur Ganbarova (Elgunash), Khayala Aghayeva, Aytac Ahmadova (Tapdig), Natig Javadli and Aysel Umudova. All six were arrested in December 2024 amid searches of some of their homes. Ulvi Tahirov, the deputy director of the Baku School of Journalism, was detained on the same day.
The investigation expanded between February and August 2025, when authorities detained five more journalists: Shamshad Agha, editor-in-chief of the news outlet “Argument.az”, freelancers Fatima Movlamli and Nurlan Gahramanli (Libre), former Voice of America (VOA) correspondent Ulviyya Ali, and photojournalist Ahmad Mukhtar.
The group faces charges ranging from illegal entrepreneurship to money laundering and tax evasion. If convicted, they face up to 12 years in prison. All twelve defendants deny the charges, which they claim are intended to silence their journalism, according to Meydan TV.
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 described the proceedings as a “textbook case of judicial harassment.”
“We call on democratic countries to exert strong pressure on the Azerbaijani regime, including through economic means, to secure the immediate release of the Meydan TV journalists and all other journalists arbitrarily jailed,” Cavelier added.
On Thursday, Arzu Abdullayeva, chair of the Azerbaijani National Committee of the Helsinki Citizens’ Assembly, reportedly appealed to President Ilham Aliyev for clemency.
“None of these people’s activities were directed against the state,” Abdullayeva told the Baku Press Club. “Their activities were related to their professional duties and expression of opinion, which is a natural part of the work of journalists and civic activists.”
The trial is the latest development in an intense crackdown on independent media in Azerbaijan, where more than two dozen journalists have been detained. Most face similar financial crimes charges.
In June, a Baku court sentenced six staff members of the investigative outlet Abzas Media and a journalist from RFE/RL’s Azerbaijani service to prison terms ranging from seven-and-a-half to nine years following a similar trial.
In her comments to OCCRP, RSF’s Jeanne Cavelier also condemned the “abusive conditions of detention” the journalists have allegedly endured, “including the use of violence.”
Several of the defendants have alleged ill-treatment. Ulviyya Ali’s mother told OC Media that her daughter was beaten during her arrest in May. According to the human rights organisation Frontline Defenders, friends have reported that Ali’s health has declined in detention.
RSF’s 2025 World Press Index ranked Azerbaijan 167th out of 180 countries, accusing the government of “trying to suppress the last of the still-independent media, as well as journalists who reject self-censorship.”
