A slap in the face of democratic governments: Strangely, all dissident journalists in Azerbaijan are ‘drenched’ in smuggling
Azerbaijan escalates its clampdown on independent media, detaining journalists on disputable charges of currency smuggling. Critics call it an assault on press freedom and human rights amid international scrutiny. Azerbaijan’s government has detained six journalists from Meydan TV, one of the country’s few remaining independent outlets, the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP) said in a statement.
Meydan TV, an OCCRP’s member center, reported losing contact with the reporters Friday, only to learn later that the Baku City Police Department had detained them.
“The homes of some of the detained journalists were searched, and their personal equipment and some belongings seized,” Meydan stated.
The country’s Ministry of Interior Affairs claimed that Ramin Jabrayilzada [Deko], an independent reporter collaborating with Meydan TV, was detained at Baku airport on allegations of smuggling foreign currency.
Authorities also detained five other journalists and editors—Aynur Ganbarova [Elgunash], Khayala Aghayeva, Aytac Ahmadova, Natig Javadli and Aysel Umudova—as well as Ulvi Tahirov, deputy director of the Baku Journalism School. Meydan TV denied the smuggling accusations, calling the detentions illegal. On Saturday, however, the Khatai District Court ordered four months of pre-trial detention for the six journalists, including Tahirov, who could face up to eight years in prison if convicted.
The detained journalists also denied the charges. Some reported physical violence during the search of their homes. They believe the detentions are a form of retaliation for their reporting.
The crackdown also led to the detention of at least 13 people, some of whom were later released. Independent photojournalist Ahmad Mukhtar was sentenced to 20 days of detention without trial on charges of minor hooliganism and disobeying police orders.
The arrests follow a broader campaign against dissents. Human rights advocate Rufat Safarov, executive director of the Defense Line human rights organization, was detained on Dec. 3 on charges of fraud and hooliganism. Following a court order, he remains in pre-trial detention for four months.
The first wave of arrests began in November 2023, when authorities arrested Abzas Media executive director Ulvi Hasanli and five employees on similar currency smuggling charges.
The crackdown at that time also targeted other independent media, such as Toplum TV and TV Kanal 13. Authorities raided their offices and arrested several employees, including Kanal 13 director Aziz Orujov, who faces charges related to unauthorized land use, and could be sentenced to up to three years in prison.
The New York-based global press freedom watchdog, the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), condemned the arrests, calling on the Azerbaijani government to release the detainees immediately.
“The detention of multiple Meydan TV journalists, occurring just as the United Nations’ COP29 climate conference wrapped up in Baku, is a sign of Azerbaijani authorities’ intention to continue the brutal media crackdown,” CPJ said in the statement.
The organization underlined that such moves of the Azerbaijan’s authorities came as “a slap in the face of both the U.N. and democratic governments who just went to Baku to shake hands with Azerbaijani officials.”
Ambassadors from the European Union, United Kingdom, United States and Switzerland, also urged Azerbaijan’s government to uphold press freedoms and release imprisoned journalists and human rights activists.
