Azerbaijan’s Crackdown on Independent Media Intensifies

December 27, 2023 – Azerbaijan –

Azerbaijan is undergoing a severe assault on press freedom, with a wave of arrests, prosecutions, and media shutdowns targeting independent journalists and outlets. Since late 2023, authorities have arrested more than 25 journalists, accusing many of “currency smuggling” and other economic crimes widely denounced as politically motivated.

One of the central targets is Abzas Media, an independent investigative outlet known for reporting on government corruption. Its director, Ulvi Hasanli, along with several editors and reporters, was arrested and charged with smuggling. Offices were raided, equipment seized, and the team cut off from legal and medical assistance. Other media outlets such as Meydan TV, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, and Voice of America have also seen their reporters detained on similar charges. Among them is Ulviyya Ali, a VOA journalist who alleges she was tortured in custody.

The campaign escalated further in February 2025 when Azerbaijani authorities suspended the local operations of BBC News Azerbaijani, allowing only one staff member to remain in the country. This move follows years of growing restrictions on foreign media, and it leaves nearly all independent reporting silenced within Azerbaijan.

International organizations, including the Committee to Protect Journalists, Reporters Without Borders, and Amnesty International, have condemned the crackdown. They assert that the Azerbaijani government is using fabricated charges to punish outlets that expose corruption or challenge state narratives. The Council of Europe’s platform for journalist safety has also issued alerts, warning that Azerbaijan is violating its commitments under the European Convention on Human Rights.

This assault on the media is part of a broader trend under President Ilham Aliyev’s rule, where dissent is criminalized, protests are suppressed, and civil society is under siege. The aim, critics argue, is not just to punish individual journalists but to eliminate the very possibility of independent scrutiny. As one jailed reporter wrote in a letter smuggled from prison: “There are no independent media left in Azerbaijan—and no one left to tell the truth.”

The international community continues to call for the immediate release of all imprisoned journalists, but Azerbaijan’s silencing of its press shows no sign of slowing.

Reference – 

https://fom.coe.int/en/alerte/detail/27247008

https://www.rferl.org/a/azerbaijan-crackdown-independent-media-journalists-arrested/32750918.html

Another journalist arrested in Azerbaijan on charges of smuggling