Convicted Journalist H. Babaly Complains About Being Deprived of His Pension

Hafiz Babaly

Investigative journalist Hafiz Babaly, convicted in the Abzas Media case, issued a statement demanding the lifting of the ban on him using his bank account to receive his disability pension.

In the post, distributed on the journalist's Facebook account, he notes that the investigation "illegally" blocked all his bank accounts, including his pension account.

"When I was arrested, all my bank accounts were blocked, including the pension one. Although, according to the law, the arrest of pension accounts is inadmissible, because these funds are not income, but finances managed by the State Social Protection Fund for payment to a person, providing a person's living minimum," states the post on Babaly's Facebook page, which is managed by his relatives.

Babaly notes that on October 14, his lawyer submitted official statements to the Baku Court of Grave Crimes and the Baku Court of Appeal regarding the lifting of the ban on the pension account, but there have been no results.

The journalist indicates that by refusing him his pension, they are depriving him of his only source of livelihood.

Babaly states that he expects the courts and other government agencies to resolve this issue.

Five employees of the online publication Abzas Media, including Director Ulvi Hasanli, Chief Editor Sevinj Vagifgizi, translator Mohammed Kekalov, reporters Nargiz Absalamova and Elnara Gasimova, as well as the head of the economic department of Turan Information Agency, investigative journalist Hafiz Babaly, were arrested between November 2023 and January 2024 on charges of foreign currency smuggling. Subsequently, economic observer of "Radio Azadlig" Farid Mehralizade was also arrested in connection with the case.

Following the preliminary investigation, in August 2024, the defendants in the case were charged with six additional articles of the Criminal Code of Azerbaijan.

They rejected the accusations and stated that they were being persecuted for their journalistic investigations.

On June 20, 2025, the court sentenced the journalists and staff of the Azerbaijani online publication Abzas Media to lengthy prison terms. The publication's director Ulvi Hasanli, chief editor Sevinj Vagifgizi, investigative journalist Hafiz Babaly, and economist Farid Mehralizade received 9 years of imprisonment each, Nargiz Absalamova and Elnara Gasimova received 9 years each, and Mohammed Kekalov received 7.5 years. On September 8, the Baku Court of Appeal upheld the verdict.

The Abzas Media case marked the beginning of a series of arrests of journalists from independent media in Azerbaijan, starting in November 2023.

Several criminal cases were initiated under a similar scenario, including the collective arrests of employees of independent online resources – Toplum TV and Meydan TV.