Azerbaijan's Press Under Pressure: Personal Hardship and Legal Battles

Shamshad Agha

The media scene in Azerbaijan is seeing a troubling mix of personal tragedy and legal fights. Shamshad Agha and Mustafa Hajibeyli, two important people in the country's media, are dealing with difficult situations that show the stress on voices that are critical of the government.

Shamshad Agha, the editor of Arqument.az who is in prison, has had multiple sad family losses. His sister, Zamina Agayeva, died in Russia after fighting cancer. People plan to bring her back to Azerbaijan to bury her. Agha's lawyers are asking the court to let him out temporarily so he can go to the funeral.

This is the third major bad thing to happen to Agha's family in less than half a year. Last October, his niece died from the same sickness. The court didn’t allow him to go to her funeral. In January, his mother died. The court let him out for three days then.

Agha was arrested in 2025 as part of the Meydan TV case. He was first charged with smuggling. Then, the government charged him and 11 other people with seven more crimes. The reporters say they didn't do anything wrong. They say they are being punished for their reporting.

Mustafa Hajibeyli, who runs the Musavat Party’s press and basta.info, might lose his house. The Supreme Court decided that Yelo Bank wins in a mortgage disagreement. Hajibeyli says the court made this decision in secret, without telling him or his lawyer.

The problem is about a loan from 2008. Hajibeyli says that he made all payments in Azerbaijani money. The Chamber of Auditors agrees. But the bank got the courts to say the debt was in U.S. dollars. The value of Azerbaijani money has dropped a lot since 2008. Because of this, the debt is now much bigger.

Hajibeyli says he paid almost 60,000 manats on a loan of about 33,500 manats. But the court says he must sell his house to pay an extra $37,000. Hajibeyli is also upset because he says the court didn't give him enough time to respond. He says the court told the bank about the decision before telling him.