Repression Surge: Scholars & Journalists Jailed in Azerbaijan’s Authoritarian Push

July 10, 2025 – Azerbaijan – 

A fresh wave of repression is sweeping Azerbaijan, as academic and media dissenters face sweeping prosecutions amid the country’s consolidation of power under President Ilham Aliyev. The Daraj report, alongside corroborating sources, highlights that after the ethnic Armenian exodus from Nagorno-Karabakh, Baku’s crackdown has deepened significantly.

On June 20, 2025, a Baku court handed down hefty prison terms—between 7 and 9 years—to several Abzas Media journalists on dubious “money laundering” charges. That case saw the prosecution of at least seven reporters, including correspondents for Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, on allegations of illegal entrepreneurship, tax evasion, and currency smuggling—charges widely dismissed as fabricated by international advocacy groups.

Amnesty International, Reporters Without Borders, Human Rights Watch, and CPJ have condemned these convictions, describing them as part of a broader campaign to silence critical journalism and deter independent scrutiny of corruption and governance. Over 300 political prisoners are currently detained, encompassing activists, academics, lawyers, and journalists—many accused on spurious pretexts such as currency smuggling or extremism.

This media clampdown extends beyond Abzas Media. Independent outlets like Meydan TV, Toplum TV, and RFE/RL have faced shuttered offices, credential revocations, equipment seizures, and arrests of staff under similar economic pretexts since late 2023. Cases such as the December 2024 detention of six Meydan TV journalists highlight the systematic use of smuggling charges to neutralize opposition reporting.

Azerbaijan ranks among the lowest in global press-freedom indices—167th out of 180 in the RSF index—with media rights severely curtailed by legal harassment, trials lacking due process, and routine surveillance of journalists. These patterns echo darker trends across civil society, with NGOs, lawyers, academics, and minority groups also being targeted in politically motivated prosecutions.

Despite mounting international condemnation—including from the EU and US officials—Baku continues equating dissent with threats to national security, using heavy sentences and arbitrary detention to consolidate an autocratic grip. The ongoing suppression not only undermines independent voices within Azerbaijan but also alarmingly signals that dissenting scholarship and journalism increasingly risk being criminalized in the region.

Reference – 

Repression Intensifies in Azerbaijan: Scholars and Journalists are Filling Up Baku Jails