Journalists Imprisoned Speak Out: “Let the Next Generation Know What We Endured”

Shamshad Agha and Ulviyya Ali (Guliyeva). Image generated by ChatGPT

Two journalists held in connection with the “Meydan TV case” — Shamshad Agha, editor-in-chief of Arqument.az, and Ulviyya Ali (Guliyeva), a contributor to Voice of America — continue to speak from prison, highlighting what they describe as arrests driven by political motives.

Shamshad Agha, now in custody at Detention Center No. 1, penned a letter outlining his arrest and life behind bars. He recalls being transported to the Kurdakhani detention center while Ahmet Kaya’s song “If only I were snow on those mountains” played. He describes the journey as “long and narrow,” reflecting the mental and emotional strain of the experience.

Agha wrote:

“I’m not writing all this to say I was a hero, or because I regret something I did. I want history — and the next generation — to read about what we went through during these days and to draw conclusions.”

He describes exchanges with another detainee and a meaningful encounter when a prison officer said he had read Agha’s poems:

“After so much stress and exhaustion, those words soothed my soul.”

On May 16, Ulviyya Ali appeared at the Baku Court of Appeal to contest her pretrial detention. Presided over by Judge Elman Rahimov, the session ended with the rejection of her appeal. She remains incarcerated.

Ali insists her detention stems from her professional work and denies owning the €6,700 the police claim was found in her residence.

“I was arrested because of my professional activity,” she stated during the hearing, also adding that she endured violence during arrest and now suffers from ongoing headaches.

Her legal representatives informed Toplum TV that a request had been filed with the Penitentiary Service for a medical evaluation, but no response has yet been given.

Ali was arrested on May 7 under the same investigation and has been charged with smuggling.