Toplum TV case: From currency-smuggling charges to lengthy prison terms for journalists and activists

On July 27, the Baku Court on Grave Crimes sentenced nine journalists and activists standing trial in the criminal case involving the independent media platform Toplum TV to prison terms ranging from 12 to 15 years. The defendants rejected the charges, while the defence said it would appeal the verdict.

Akif Gurbanov, head of the Institute for Democratic Initiatives and spokesperson for the political movement “Platform of the III Republic,” and Ruslan Izzatli, a member of the movement’s founding group, were each sentenced to 15 years in prison.

Toplum TV co-founder and media law expert Alasgar Mammadli and Institute for Democratic Initiatives employee Ali Zeynal were each sentenced to 14 years in prison.

Ramil Babayev, Mushfig Jabbarov and Ilkin Amrahov were each sentenced to 13 years, while journalist Farid Ismayilov and Toplum TV employee Elmir Abbasov were each sentenced to 12 years. Abbasov, who had remained under police supervision until the verdict was announced, was arrested in the courtroom.

The court thus imposed a prison term on each defendant that was one year shorter than the sentence requested by the public prosecutor. The prosecution had asked the court to sentence Gurbanov and Izzatli to 16 years each, Mammadli and Zeynal to 15 years each, Babayev, Jabbarov and Amrahov to 14 years each, and Ismayilov and Abbasov to 13 years each.

The prosecution also asked that the defendants be barred for three years from holding certain positions in state and local self-government bodies and that their previously seized vehicles and homes be confiscated to secure the civil claim.

The court ruled that each convicted person should be barred for two years and six months from holding managerial positions and positions involving material responsibility in state and local self-government bodies.

The panel of judges also upheld the civil claim and ordered the confiscation of vehicles and homes owned by the defendants, as well as a country house built on a 0.15-hectare plot of land owned by Akif Gurbanov’s wife.

The defence demanded the acquittal of all defendants, saying the prosecution had failed to present evidence proving that they had committed any crimes. The defendants also rejected the charges and linked the criminal case to their journalistic, civic and political activities.

From Searches to Aggravated Charges

The criminal case began after Interior Ministry officers conducted searches on March 6, 2024, at the offices of Toplum TV, the Institute for Democratic Initiatives and the “Platform of the III Republic,” as well as at the homes of journalists and activists.

At the initial stage, the defendants were charged under Article 206.3.2 of Azerbaijan’s Criminal Code — smuggling committed by a group of persons acting in prior collusion. Investigators alleged that the activities of Toplum TV and organisations associated with the platform had been financed using foreign currency illegally brought into the country.

Those detained included Mammadli, Jabbarov, Zeynal, Gurbanov, Izzatli, Babayev and Amrahov. Abbasov and Ismayilov were initially placed under police supervision. Ismayilov was arrested in January 2025 after the charges were aggravated.

After the preliminary investigation was completed, the list of charges was significantly expanded. According to several reports, on January 17, 2025, the defendants were charged with additional offences involving the employment of workers without formal labour contracts, illegal entrepreneurship, money laundering, smuggling committed by an organised group and tax evasion.

The final indictment included Articles 162-1.1, 192.3.2, 193-1.3.1, 193-1.3.2, 206.4 and 213.2.1 of the Criminal Code. The Committee to Protect Journalists and other organisations monitoring the trial also confirmed that the charges had been expanded in January 2025.

According to investigators, the defendants acted as an organised group and obtained foreign funding for Toplum TV, the Institute for Democratic Initiatives, the institute-affiliated Fakt Yoxla platform and the “Platform of the III Republic” in violation of Azerbaijani law.

The defendants said the organisations’ grant-funded and project-based activities did not constitute crimes and that the financial transactions had been documented. Defence lawyers said the prosecution’s case was based on assumptions and that neither the alleged smuggling of foreign currency nor the individual role of each defendant in the purported illegal operations had been established.

Disputes in Court

The trial was presided over by Judge Azer Taghiyev and was marked by disputes between the defence and the court.

Lawyers said their access to the case materials had been restricted, that they had not been given sufficient time to prepare their arguments and that defence motions had been rejected. According to the lawyers, the prosecution failed to establish a legally convincing connection between the funds referred to in the case materials and the defendants’ specific actions.

In June, prosecutors sought a combined total of 130 years in prison for the defendants. The public prosecutor also asked that Abbasov be arrested in the courtroom and that the defendants’ seized property be used to satisfy the civil claim. The prison terms sought by prosecutors ranged from 13 to 16 years.

In their final statements, the defendants again rejected the charges. Gurbanov and Izzatli described the criminal case as politically motivated, while Mammadli and Toplum TV employees said the prosecution was linked to their independent journalism and critical coverage of the authorities’ activities.

The defence said it would file appeals after receiving the full text of the verdict.

Reactions and the Authorities’ Position

The Toplum TV case has drawn the attention of international organisations defending journalists and human rights.

The Committee to Protect Journalists called for an end to the criminal prosecution, describing the case as part of a broader campaign against the independent press. In June, the Committee to Protect Journalists condemned the prison terms requested by prosecutors.

The Azerbaijani authorities reject allegations that journalists are being prosecuted because of their professional activities. Officials have repeatedly said that working as a journalist does not exempt an individual from responsibility for personal violations of the law and that the criminal cases under investigation concern financial crimes rather than freedom of expression.

Toplum TV has described itself as an independent media platform covering politics, the economy, social issues, human rights and the work of state institutions. Although its editorial operations in Azerbaijan were halted after the searches in March 2024, it currently continues its editorial activities from abroad.

The verdict is one of the harshest court decisions handed down in Azerbaijan in recent years against a group of independent media and civil society representatives. It comes against the backdrop of other criminal cases involving employees of Abzas Media and Meydan TV.