Investigation Phase of the “AbzasMedia Case” Concludes

On May 16, a hearing was held at the Baku Court of Grave Crimes regarding the “AbzasMedia case.” During the session, presided over by Judge Rasim Sadigov, video footage recorded by the investigative team during the search of the organization’s office was presented as part of the document examination phase.

The video showed individuals entering the AbzasMedia office during the search, including the organization’s founder and director Ulvi Hasanli, lawyer Zibeyda Sadigova, an investigator, and three officers named in the protocol. However, another plainclothes individual was also visible in the hallway but was not listed in the official report. Although this person did not appear to enter the room, the defense suspects that he may have placed 40,000 euros on top of a cabinet while others were inside. Officers later claimed they discovered the money there by standing on a stool. Hasanli has stated that the 40,000 euros allegedly found in the office had no connection to them and were planted by those conducting the search.

The defendants’ lawyers submitted several motions to the court. These included identifying the plainclothes individual seen during the search, returning confiscated equipment (such as phones and computers), excluding Mahammad Kekalov’s retracted statements from the evidence list, and summoning witnesses — including those present during searches and a taxi driver who transported Hasanli on November 20, 2023. None of the motions were granted.

Lawyer Elchin Sadigov asked Mahammad Kekalov in court about documents allegedly extracted from his computer, to which Kekalov responded that the documents in question were not on his device at all. Kekalov reiterated, as he had in previous sessions, that he disowned statements used against Elnara Gasimova, Nargiz Absalamova, and Hafiz Babali, and had formally withdrawn them.

Economist and journalist Farid Mehralizade spoke during the hearing, recalling that when he was arrested, investigators cited a statement against him. “At the end of the investigation, when I reviewed the materials, I saw there was nothing against me. The investigator must have planned from the beginning to prepare a statement and have Mahammad Kekalov sign it. That didn’t happen. So now I ask again: on what basis have I been arrested and why am I being held here?”

Another defendant, journalist Hafiz Babali, stated that while the investigation materials claimed he had voluntarily gone to the police and was arrested after giving a statement, he was actually detained by force at the Azerbaijan Railway Station on his way to work.

Editor-in-chief Sevinc Vagifgizi (Abbasova) remarked that Togrul Huseynov, the investigator in their case from the Baku City Main Police Department, had since been promoted to head of the Investigation Department at the Sabail District Police Department: “They got him promoted thanks to us…”

Following these proceedings, Judge Rasim Sadigov declared the investigation phase of the trial completed. Prosecutor Rauf Malishov requested time to prepare his statement. The next hearing is scheduled for May 20.

Background

The trial involves the founder and director of AbzasMedia, Ulvi Hasanli, coordinator Mahammad Kekalov, editor-in-chief Sevinc Vagifgizi, investigative journalist Hafiz Babali, reporters Nargiz Absalamova and Elnara Gasimova, and Radio Azadliq journalist Farid Mehralizade. They were initially charged with several offenses, including smuggling, illegal entrepreneurship, money laundering, and tax evasion — charges that could carry sentences of up to 12 years.

The arrests began on November 20, 2023, with the detention of Hasanli and Kekalov and searches at their homes and the AbzasMedia office. It was during this search that 40,000 euros were allegedly found — a claim that Hasanli disputes, saying the money was planted.

On November 22, 2023, editor-in-chief Sevinc Vagifgizi was arrested upon returning to the country. That same night, a search was conducted at her residence. Later in November, Nargiz Absalamova and then Hafiz Babali and Elnara Gasimova were arrested. In May 2024, Farid Mehralizade was also detained under the same case.

Local and international human rights organizations view these arrests as politically motivated and have called for the journalists to be released and the charges dropped. Over the past year and a half, more than 30 journalists and civil activists have been arrested in Azerbaijan, primarily under smuggling charges. All deny the allegations and claim they were targeted for their professional activities.

According to lists compiled by local human rights defenders, there are currently around 350 political prisoners in Azerbaijan. Government officials deny that any arrests are politically motivated, but international organizations, the U.S. State Department, and several Western diplomats in Baku have called for an end to crackdowns on independent media and civil society.