Alesker Mammadli Rejected the Prosecution's Claims of Toplum TV's Illegality

Alesker Mammadli

On September 29, at the Toplum TV trial in the Baku Court for Grave Crimes, the publication's founder, Alesker Mammadli, challenged the prosecution's claim regarding the "illegal activity" of the media outlet, calling it insolvent.

He stated that such a conclusion demonstrates the "prosecution's lack of awareness of the legal regulation in the field of media law."

"Toplum TV is a domain name. According to the rules of the International Communications Association, domain names can have international or national codes. For example: 'com,' 'org,' 'net,' 'info,' 'tv,' etc. They can be obtained online through 'whois.com' by providing an email address and paying $8–$10. No other procedural rules or state registration are required for this," he noted.

Mammadli pointed out that the laws in force at the time of Toplum TV's creation and those that came into effect later did not require state registration for this media outlet. "The Toplum TV domain was acquired in April 2016, and the website was created in 2017. At that time, the legislative acts regulating media activity in Azerbaijan were the Law 'On Mass Media' and the Law 'On Television and Radio.' The registration of resources accessed via domain names was not planned," he declared.

Responding to the accusation that he wrote projects on behalf of Toplum TV and received grants from foreign organizations, he called it baseless. According to the publication, he stated that the investigation falsified evidence by presenting service contracts he concluded with various organizations, in his capacity as an expert, as grants.

Mammadli also emphasized that Toplum TV conducted no commercial activity and generated no income. "It was simply a platform for young people wishing to become journalists and hone their skills in practice. It was a voluntary activity by individuals that brought no material income. My activity here was only limited to purchasing the Toplum.tv domain," he stated.

During the court proceedings, journalist Farid Ismayilov, who is also accused in this case, stated that he was threatened with death while in custody.

"Farid claims that an inmate from a neighboring cell threatened to kill him. When penitentiary staff took Farid to the medical unit on September 23, another inmate threw a glass at him. Despite all of Farid's complaints, no action was taken regarding the incident. He then met with his lawyer and filed a motion to transfer the inmate who threw the glass at him. But no one considered the application," his relatives said.

The activists and journalists arrested in the Toplum TV case in March 2024, who were initially charged with currency smuggling, were presented with new charges under six criminal articles in January 2025. They face up to 12 years in prison. On April 2, the court refused to consider the petitions of most of the accused for transfer to house arrest, keeping them in custody.

The defendants include the publication's founder Alesker Mammadli, Toplum TV employees Mushvig Jabbar and Farid Ismayilov, the head of Toplum TV's partner organization—the Institute for Democratic Initiatives—Akif Gurbanov, and institute staff Ruslan Izzetli, Ali Zeynal, Ramil Babayev, Ilkin Amrakhov, and Elmir Abbasov. With the exception of Abbasov, all are currently detained, while he is under police supervision.