Committee to Protect Journalists Calls on Baku to Free 11 Journalists Ahead of COP29

The New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) condemns the extension of pre-trial detention for 11 journalists in Azerbaijan and urges the authorities to release them ahead of the COP29 climate conference in November.

"The ongoing detention of 11 journalists from the last critical media outlets in Azerbaijan shows that the country's bravest journalists will not be able to speak out about corruption and human rights violations during COP29," stated Gulnoza Sayeed, the CPJ's Europe and Central Asia program coordinator. "Azerbaijan's international partners should use the attention surrounding the conference to intensify calls to drop all charges and free the imprisoned journalists," she added.

The journalists in question are among 13 media workers from four independent news outlets detained since November 2023 on charges of currency smuggling, allegedly funded by Western donors. The CPJ listed the names of those arrested in connection with Abzas Media: Ulvi Hasanly, Sevinc Vagifgizi, Elnara Gasimova, Nargiz Absalamova, Mohammed Kekalov, and Hafiz Babaly; from “Toplum TV” – Alesker Mammadli and Mushfig Jabbar; from “Kanal-13” – Aziz Orudjev and Shamo Eminov; as well as the head of Meclis.info – Imran Aliyev.

Additionally, “Toplum TV” journalists Farid Ismayilov and Elmira Abbasova are currently under travel restrictions. In August, authorities filed seven new charges against six journalists from “Abzas Media”, increasing the potential maximum prison sentence to 12 years. The others face up to 8 years in prison.

The CPJ has joined over two dozen organizations calling for the release of imprisoned journalists in Azerbaijan ahead of COP29, as stated in the conclusion of their statement.