Meydan TV Denounces Illegal Arrests Amid Escalating Media Crackdown in Azerbaijan

December 6, 2024 – Azerbaijan –

Berlin-based Meydan TV publicly condemned the arrests of six of its journalists—Ramin Jabrayilzade, Aynur Elgunesh, Aytaj Ahmadova, Aysel Umudova, Khayala Aghayeva, and Natig Javadli—as part of the so-called “currency smuggling” case; all were taken into custody by Baku authorities on claims of illegal foreign currency importation under Article 206.3.2 of the Criminal Code. Meydan TV’s management slammed the detentions as unlawful, refuting the allegations and describing the actions as part of a long-running persecution of their reporters and families, involving travel bans, Pegasus spyware surveillance, cyberattacks, and a longstanding website block since 2017.

By December 8, Baku’s appeals court ordered four-month pre-trial detention for the group—a response to prosecutorial appeals—despite the journalists’ lawyers and the detained themselves calling the charges groundless and politically motivated. One detainee reported mistreatment akin to torture: held without food, water, or the removal of handcuffs during extended hearings, then formally denied bail under the accusation that their silence would compromise the probe.

International groups, including CPJ, RSF, IPI, Amnesty International, and Freedom Now, have condemned the arrests as part of a broader assault on independent journalism, particularly amplified in the aftermath of Azerbaijan hosting COP29. RSF deemed the wave of arrests “appalling,” calling for immediate release and marking it as a tactic to dismantle the last remaining critical media voices.

A week later, a fresh round of detentions widened the “Meydan TV case”: freelancers like Fatima Mövlamli and Nurlan Gahramanli were arrested under similar smuggling charges, bringing the total to at least nine individuals still held.

Reference –

Meydan TV’s statement regarding latest arrests of journalists