Azerbaijan’s Media Crackdown Intensifies with Another Journalist Arrested

February 21, 2025 – Azerbaijan – 

Azerbaijan’s tightening grip on independent journalism intensified in February 2025, as yet another journalist, Fikret Faramazoglu, was arrested in Baku—the latest in a wave of detentions targeting reporters linked to the independent outlet Meydan TV. His arrest follows a pattern of state-led repression that has seen at least nine journalists detained since November 2023 under accusations of smuggling and illicit financial dealings, charges critics say are politically motivated.

Faramazoglu, editor-in-chief of the now-banned Jam. az news website, was taken into custody on February 20 and is facing charges under Article 206.3.2 of Azerbaijan’s Criminal Code—“smuggling by a group of persons in conspiracy.” Local media and rights advocates believe his arrest is linked to his past affiliation with Meydan TV, a Berlin-based media platform critical of the Azerbaijani government. Though Faramazoglu was not a current employee, authorities have widened their dragnet to include journalists with even historical or indirect connections to the outlet.

This marks the continuation of a broad campaign by Azerbaijani authorities to dismantle critical media and silence dissent. Courts have consistently denied appeals by detained journalists, including those from Abzas Media and Meydan TV. On February 22, an Azerbaijani court rejected the appeals of several imprisoned journalists, including Ulviyya Ali and Afgan Sadygov, despite growing international outcry and a lack of transparent legal proceedings.

Media watchdogs and human rights organizations have condemned the crackdown, calling it a grave violation of press freedom and due process. The International Press Institute (IPI), Reporters Without Borders (RSF), and the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) have all demanded the immediate release of detained journalists and an end to the judicial harassment targeting independent media.

The arrests come amid rising authoritarianism in Azerbaijan, where the government of President Ilham Aliyev has increasingly suppressed dissenting voices in the lead-up to critical political events. As legal appeals continue to be dismissed, international observers warn that the window for free expression in Azerbaijan is closing rapidly, leaving little room for accountability, transparency, or an independent press.

Reference – 

https://www.panorama.am/en/news/2025/02/22/Azerbaijan-journalist-arrest/3117440

Courts reject appeals of journalists accused in the “Meydan TV case”

https://oc-media.org/another-azerbaijani-journalist-arrested-as-media-crackdown-continues/