Director of Abzas Media Ulvi Hasanli Ends Hunger Strike

Ulvi Hasanli, the director of Abzas Media

August 5, 2025

Ulvi Hasanli, the director of Abzas Media, has ended his hunger strike on its 17th day at the Umbakı Penitentiary Complex. He made this decision in response to pleas from his family and friends, who were concerned for his health.

Hasanli began the hunger strike on July 20 to protest his unjustified detention at the Umbakı Penitentiary Complex, where he was denied in-person visits with his family members, including his three-year-old daughter.

On August 5, Hasanli ended his hunger strike following appeals from his relatives and friends who were worried about his health. According to his loved ones, he lost 15 kg during the 17-day hunger strike and now weighs 63 kg.

The journalist's family stated that because he was held in a punishment cell with no windows or ventilation in 40-degree heat, Hasanli developed shortness of breath, an increased heart rate, kidney pain, and low blood pressure.

Given his weakened state and the lack of medical care, his family and friends strongly urged Hasanli not to put his health at further risk. Taking their appeals into account, he ended his protest on August 5 on the 17th day of the hunger strike.

Hasanli's decision was also influenced by the announcement of the preliminary hearing date for the Abzas Media appeal, which is scheduled for August 12. He hopes that the judges of the Baku Court of Appeal will ensure his return to Baku Pre-trial Detention Center-1, where he is supposed to be held until the appeal against the verdict is completed.

Five employees of the online publication Abzas Media—including director Ulvi Hasanli, editor-in-chief Sevinj Vagifgizi, translator Mohammed Kekalov, reporters Nargiz Absalamova and Elnara Gasimova—as well as Hafiz Babaly, head of the economic department of the Turan news agency and an investigative journalist, were arrested between November 2023 and January 2024 on charges of currency smuggling. In June 2024, Farid Mehralizade, an economic columnist for the Azerbaijani service of Radio Liberty, was also arrested in connection with this case.

Following the preliminary investigation in August 2024, the defendants were charged with six additional articles of the Criminal Code of Azerbaijan. They have rejected the charges, stating that they are being persecuted for their journalistic investigations.

On June 20, 2025, a court sentenced the journalists and staff of the Azerbaijani online publication Abzas Media to lengthy prison terms. The director of the publication, Ulvi Hasanli; editor-in-chief Sevinj Vagifgizi; investigative journalist Hafiz Babaly; and economist Farid Mehralizade were all sentenced to nine years in prison. Nargiz Absalamova and Elnara Gasimova received eight-year sentences, while Mohammed Kekalov was sentenced to six and a half years.

The Abzas Media case marked the beginning of a series of arrests of journalists from independent media outlets in Azerbaijan starting in November 2023. Several other criminal cases have been initiated under a similar scenario, including the collective arrests of employees from independent online resources such as Toplum TV and Meydan TV.