Persecution of “Abzas Media” journalists must be stopped - RBG

Baku/11.01.24/Turan: The International Organization for the Protection of Journalists "Reporters without Borders" condemned the continued detention of journalists: Ulvi Hasanli, Sevinj Vagifgizi, and Hafiz Babaly. "Despite the absence of grounds, the courts in Azerbaijan continue to detain journalists Ulvi Hasanli and Sevinj Vagifgizi, as well as Hafiz Babaly   from the online publication “Abzas Media”.

The persecution of these journalists must stop. They must be released," reads a message posted on the “Reporters Without Borders” page on the social network “X.”

Ulvi Hasanli, Sevinj Vagifgizi and Hafiz Babaly were arrested in November-December 2023 on charges of smuggling foreign currency. They deny the accusations and link their persecution to journalistic investigations of corruption in the highest echelons of government in Azerbaijan.

The day before, the court refused to transfer these three journalists to house arrest. Two other employees of “Abzas Media,” Nargiz Absalamova and Mohammad Kekalov, are also involved in the same case. –16B-