“Abzas Media” Awarded Special Prize by the European Press Prize

Foto: Leyla Mustafayeva

In recognition of its courage under repression and its role in an unprecedented international collaboration, Abzas Media has been honored with the European Press Prize’s Special Award for its contribution to The Baku Connection consortium.

Building on Silenced VoicesCoordinated by the Forbidden Stories platform, The Baku Connection brought together 40 journalists from 15 leading news outlets—including Der Standard, Le Monde, France 24, The Guardian, OCCRP, Radio France, ZDF, and Abzas Media—to continue the investigations of their Azerbaijani colleagues, many of whom have been jailed for reporting on corruption, environmental abuses, and human-rights violations under the Aliyev regime.

Three Reports, Three Exposés

• February 1, 2024 (Pre-election): The consortium’s first instalment examined systemic management failures in Azerbaijan’s prison system and detailed health and safety concerns at the Gadabay gold mine in the country’s west.

• February 20, 2024 (Post-election): The second report revealed how Azerbaijani authorities manipulate election monitoring to manufacture democratic legitimacy.

• November 8, 2024 (Ahead of COP29): The third instalment uncovered suspicious financial networks tied to French-Azerbaijani businessman Khagani Bashirov, including a luxury villa on the French Riviera, opaque Luxembourg holding structures, and the alleged embezzlement of millions of euros.

A Prize for PerseveranceThe European Press Prize’s special distinction was formally presented to Leyla Mustafayeva, the Abzas Media journalist who, despite her colleagues’ imprisonment, helped coordinate The Baku Connection efforts on the ground. Accepting the award, Mustafayeva said:

“This honor belongs not only to our team at Abzas Media but to every journalist who refused to let censorship win.”

The Human CostSince November 20, 2023, six key members of Abzas Media have been detained under the so-called “Abzas Media case”: director Ulvi Hasanli, deputy director Mammad Kekalov, editor-in-chief Sevinc Vagifgizi, reporters Nargiz Absalamova and Elnara Gasimova, and investigative journalist Hafiz Babali. In May 2024, economist-journalist Farid Mehralizadeh of Radio Azadliq was also arrested.

Initially charged with smuggling, the journalists now face expanded allegations of illegal entrepreneurship, organized-group smuggling, tax evasion, document forgery, and the use of forged papers. On May 20, 2025, prosecutors demanded 12 years’ imprisonment each for Hasanli, Babali, and Mehralizadeh, and 11 years for Vagifgizi, Kekalov, Absalamova, and Gasimova. The defendants—who insist their only “crime” is reporting the truth—have called for continued international solidarity with their ongoing investigations.

From Urgent Appeal to Global ConsortiumShortly after the arrests, Abzas Media published an appeal urging local and international colleagues to carry on their unfinished work. On November 23, 2023, Forbidden Stories, OCCRP, and Paper Trail Media issued a joint statement announcing the launch of The Baku Connection consortium. Within days, fifteen global outlets and forty journalists had pledged to collaborate, ensuring that the stories their Azerbaijani peers began would reach the world.

A Legacy of RecognitionThis Special Award follows other accolades for Abzas Media: the 2024 Free Media Award and the Homo Homini Global Human Rights Award from People in Need. Yet for Mustafayeva and her colleagues, the real victory lies in sustaining press freedom and exposing abuse. As she remarked upon receiving the prize:

“Every fact we publish is a step toward justice—for our imprisoned colleagues, for the communities they serve, and for the cause of a free press everywhere.”

Looking AheadWith the European Press Prize shining an international spotlight on their work, Abzas Media and its partners in The Baku Connection consortium have underscored a vital truth: silencing journalists only deepens the need for transparency. As the legal process unfolds in Baku, global media will continue to monitor the trials—and the stories—until each is told in full.