CPJ condemns 16-year jail demands for Azerbaijan's Toplum TV journalists

The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) has called on Azerbaijan to drop all charges against independent reporters and activists facing up to 16 years in prison.

State prosecutors in Baku requested the heavy sentences on 8 June for nine people associated with the independent online news outlet Toplum TV and its partner organisation, the Institute for Democratic Initiatives (IDI).

In a statement released on 10 June, the US-based media watchdog said the prosecution's demands showed a clear desire by President Ilham Aliyev to silence critical reporting.

The outrageous prison terms sought by prosecutors... make it crystal clear that President Ilham Aliyev's media crackdown is about instilling a climate of fear and retaliating against bold reporting," said Gulnoza Said, the CPJ's Europe and Central Asia programme co-ordinator.

The trial, which is taking place at the Baku Grave Crimes Court, involves some of Azerbaijan's most prominent independent media figures and political activists.

Prosecutor Rauf Malishov proposed 16-year sentences for Akif Gurbanov, the head of IDI and spokesperson for the Third Republic Platform opposition group, and the group's co-founder Ruslan Izzetli.

He also requested 15 years for Toplum TV co-founder and media lawyer Alesker Mammadli, and journalist trainer Ali Zeynal. Five other defendants, including video editors and reporters, face prison terms of between 13 and 14 years.

Police raided the offices of Toplum TV and IDI in Baku in March 2024, arresting most of the defendants and sealing the premises.

While they were initially accused of smuggling foreign currency, prosecutors later upgraded the charges to include illegal entrepreneurship, money laundering, and tax evasion.

The defendants have strongly denied all the allegations, calling them politically motivated fabrications designed to crush the country's remaining free press.

Azerbaijan has faced growing international criticism over its treatment of independent media.

According to the CPJ, at least 24 media workers are currently behind bars in the country, which was ranked the world's sixth-worst jailer of journalists last year.