Azerbaijan Sentences Exiled Journalists to Lengthy Prison Terms in Absentia

January 16, 2026 – Azerbaijan – 

A Baku Serious Crimes Court has handed down eight-year prison sentences in absentia to prominent Azerbaijani journalists living abroad, part of an intensifying pattern of legal actions targeting dissenting media voices beyond the country’s borders. On January 14, 2026, the court convicted Sevinj (Sevinc) Osmanqizi, a U.S.-based journalist and former BBC reporter, on charges related to “calling for mass unrest and attempting to overthrow the state,” and imposed the same term on France-based journalist Ganimat Zahid on similar accusations. Both journalists, who hold political asylum in their respective countries, deny the allegations and say they reflect retaliation for their critical reporting.

Osmanqizi has lived in the United States since fleeing Azerbaijan in 2012 amid government pressure for her work at the now-closed ANS broadcaster and later as the founder of the widely followed Osmanqizi TV YouTube channel. Zahid, editor-in-chief of the independent Azadliq Gazeti and host of the Azerbaycan Saati channel, has lived in exile since 2011. Both journalists told the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) they had received only brief public notices via Azerbaijani state media about the accusations, and they reject the charges as fabricated attempts to stifle independent journalism.

Press freedom advocates say these in-absentia convictions form part of a broader campaign by Azerbaijani authorities to clamp down on critics and independent media, including those outside the country. CPJ’s Europe and Central Asia program coordinator Gulnoza Said described the rulings as “blatant transnational repression,” urging Western governments to ensure that exiled journalists receive full protection against politically motivated prosecutions.

The sentences against Osmanqizi and Zahid follow a series of other in-absentia convictions of activists, bloggers, and exiled critics and occur against the backdrop of a sustained domestic crackdown on independent media in Azerbaijan that has seen at least 26 journalists and media workers imprisoned on politically sensitive charges in recent years. Rights groups warn that these measures deepen an already severe environment for free expression and undermine legal protections for journalists both at home and abroad.

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Azerbaijan sentences exiled journalists to lengthy prison terms in absentia

Azerbaijani Court Hands Eight-Year In Absentia Sentence to Exiled Journalist Sevinc Osmanqizi