In Azerbaijan, authorities are again targeting journalists, in a new wave of arrests
In a fresh wave of arrests, authorities rounded up journalists, activists on smuggling and extortion charges
Originally published on Global Voices
Arrested Meydan TV journalists. Image courtesy of Meydan TV.
On December 6, police in Azerbaijan's capital, Baku, rounded up six more journalists in what looked like a wave of renewed arrests following the COP29 spotlight. All six journalists are from the exiled and well-known independent Meydan TV news platform and were formally charged with smuggling and sent into four-month pretrial detention on December 8.
The same charges were used to target journalists from Abzas Media, Toplum TV and Kanal 13 since November 2023. Police also arrested prominent human rights defender Rufat Safarov and opposition politician Azer Gasimli. They were also sentenced to four months of pre-trial detention — Safarov was charged with fraud and hooliganism and Gasimli with extortion.
Simultaneous arrests
The detentions on December 6 were simultaneous. Ramin Jabrayilzade (Deko) was detained at the Haydar Aliyev International Airport. Two journalists, Aytaj Ahmadova and Khayala Aghayeva, were arrested from their homes. Natig Javadli was detained outside his office while on his way to lunch, and Aysel Umudova from a hotel outside of Baku where she was on vacation. Meydan TV lost contact with all of its reporters around 4:00 p.m. Baku time on December 6. Police also arrested Ulvi Tahirov, deputy director of the Baku Journalism School. The latter worked with Meydan TV on various training and educational projects for young and aspiring journalists.
On December 7, targeted detentions continued. Among those detained and questioned were animal rights activist Kamran Mammadli, journalists Ahmad Mukhtar and Rashad Ergun, as well as two relatives of detainees: Elnur Jabbarzade and Yunis Rzayev.
While Mammadli, Jabbarzade and Rzayev were released after questioning, journalist Ahmed Mukhtar was sentenced to 20 days of administrative detention on hooliganism and resisting police charges.
Kamran Mammadli's lawyer confirmed the animal rights activist was tortured during detention.
Lawyers representing the journalists told reporters all were questioned in the absence of their lawyers. Meydan TV confirmed to Global Voices that there was a second round of questioning during which lawyers were present.
In addition to journalists, police also detained opposition politician Azer Gasimli on December 8. Gasimli was on his way to pick up his child from football practice when he was detained by the police and taken to Baku City's main police department, where he was informed of extortion charges leveled against him.
Police searched the homes of those arrested, confiscating all of their devices.
In a statement issued by Meydan TV, the news platform rejected the accusations: “We, as the management of Meydan TV, firmly state that the detention and interrogation of our journalists is illegal, and we refute all accusations.”
#Azerbaijan brazenly continues to target independent journalists. The latest act of repression is the detention of five @MeydanTV journalists on clearly politically motivated grounds. We call for their immediate release and for this harassment to end. https://t.co/SznpQIRJAu
— Freedom Now (@freedomnoworg) December 6, 2024
This is not the first time Meydan TV has been targeted by the Baku authorities. Throughout its 10-plus years of existence, the newsroom's journalists faced bogus charges, were placed on travel bans, and the platform's website was blocked for access in Azerbaijan. They have also faced a series of digital attacks, including hacking and DDoS attacks on their landing website.
In 2014, following a wave of arrests, the newsroom decided to shut down its physical office in the capital out of fear of persecution and reprisals. Since then, the newsroom has fully shifted to operating in exile while relying on a team of diligent journalists on the ground.
The newsroom's reporting has been recognized internationally. In 2017, Meydan TV received the Fritt Ord Foundation's Free Media Award, and in 2024, they were finalists in the World Justice Challenge.
Mass discrediting
Azerbaijani government-aligned media is well versed in targeted reputational damage campaigns against individuals and organizations. Before the arrests of journalists from Abzas Media and Toplum TV, they were targeted by pro-government online news sites, claiming that Toplum TV, Abzas, and others were financed by Western governments, specifically the United States, to spread anti-Azerbaijan narratives.
As such, it was not surprising to see a wave of “investigations” published since the arrests of Meydan TV journalists echoing the official narrative — alleging that the Meydan TV journalists were involved in “money laundering” and “dark activities.”
Authorities in Azerbaijan have historically and consistently silenced independent media. A wave of restrictions introduced since independence gradually forced journalists from independent and opposition media on the margins and, in cases like Meydan TV, into exile.
In addition to arrests and various forms of intimidation and discrediting, the government has introduced a number of legal amendments that have helped to restrict media freedom. The most recent example of such measures was the law on Media, which came into effect in February 2022, and the Media Registry, which became operational in October 2022.
Compulsory registration requires that journalists meet a list of criteria ranging from having higher education to having no previous criminal record (which is virtually impossible among independent or opposition journalists as they often get questioned or harassed by the police and, in some cases, served time in jail); having a labor contract with a publisher, which is problematic for independent journalists and freelancers, to name a few. Meanwhile, outlets must produce a minimum of 20 stories a day; the founders must come from Azerbaijan and be based in the country — also a challenge because there are a number of news outlets whose founders are based abroad and who have left the country due to mounting pressure.
Azerbaijan's track record on press freedom has been steadily in decline. This is reflected in the country's place on press freedom rankings and journalists’ personal accounts of persecution and intimidation. This year, the country ranked 164th out of 180 countries on the Reporters Without Borders freedom of the media index. Freedom House ranks Azerbaijan “not free” under its Global Freedom and Internet Freedom indexes.
The authorities in Baku insist none of the criticisms are true, accusing instead those critical of the regime of double standards, bias and meddling in internal matters of the country.