Nargiz Absalamova Among Winners of Prestigious Journalism Award

Nargiz Absalamova

Nargiz Absalamova, who is serving a prison sentence in Azerbaijan for the anti-corruption investigations of the publication Abzas Media, is among the winners of the "Free Media Award." The 2025 winners were announced on September 9 by the Norwegian foundation Fritt Ord and the German foundation ZEIT Stiftung Bucerius. Journalists from Ukraine, Georgia, Hungary, Russia, Belarus, and Azerbaijan were honored with the award in the field of media freedom. Absalamova was awarded for the courageous reports and short documentary films she made for Abzas Media. She mainly covered issues of climate, corruption, and social rights.

"Absalamova made sure that the voices of representatives of vulnerable local communities, including women and youth who face discrimination, were heard. Her video reports on social media have been viewed by millions of people and have had a positive impact on civil society. Her camera was confiscated multiple times, and she repeatedly faced police brutality," according to the press release from the award's founders.

Absalamova was arrested on December 1, 2023, on charges of smuggling. As with her other colleagues from Abzas Media, the charges were later made more severe. In June of this year, she was sentenced to 8 years in prison.