Azerbaijani media in 2020

On December 23, at the Baku Court for Grave Crimes, the prosecutor requested a nine-year prison sentence for detained journalist Teymur Karimov. The prosecutor also proposed that he be found guilty under Article 182 (extortion by threat) and, as an additional punishment, be banned from engaging in journalistic activities for 2 years and 6 months.

The arrest of human rights defender Rufat Safarov and Meydan TV employees, the developments concerning the state of human rights in the country following COP29, and the reactions of international organizations and the West were discussed by political commentator Erestun Orujlu in an interview with ASTNA.

The Azerbaijani press celebrates its 149th anniversary — a milestone that takes us back to the visionary efforts of Hasan bey Zardabi, who founded the first printed newspaper "Əkinçi" ("The Sower") in 1875. Zardabi’s pioneering initiatives sowed the seeds of Azerbaijani journalism, cultivating a legacy that has endured the oppressive climates of Tsarist Russia, Soviet rule, and the turbulent political landscape of modern Azerbaijan.

Traditionally, on the eve of the National Press Day, ASTNA talked about the state of the media and journalists over the past year with an expert on media issues, head of the media rights group Khalid Agaliyev.