Rights group condemns Azerbaijan over jailed journalists on protest anniversary

An international rights group has urged Azerbaijan to release jailed journalists who documented landmark environmental protests, marking the third anniversary of the demonstrations.

Human Rights Solidarity (HRS) said a police blockade of Soyudlu village in western Azerbaijan remains in place three years after residents protested against toxic waste from a nearby gold mine.

The advocacy group highlighted the case of Aytac Tapdig, also known as Aytac Ahmedova, a reporter for the independent outlet Meydan TV who was among the first to film the police response to the protests in June 2023.

Meydan TV journalist Aytac Tapdig was one of the first independent reporters to enter the village and film what was happening," the organisation said in a statement. "Her footage quickly spread across the world."

Several months later, Tapdig and fellow Meydan TV reporter Khayala Agayeva were followed by police and prevented from entering the village to continue their reporting.

Both reporters are now in prison awaiting trial on smuggling charges, in what press freedom advocates describe as a wider campaign to silence independent media in Azerbaijan.

The rights group said the two women are "victims of a large-scale wave of repression... whose only 'guilt' was to illuminate and share the truth."

They were arrested on 6 December 2024 alongside four other Meydan TV colleagues — Ramin Deko, Aynur Ganbarova, Aysel Umudova, and Natig Javadli — and civil society activist Ulvi Tahirov.

The group was initially accused of smuggling foreign currency under Article 206.3.2 of the Azerbaijani Criminal Code.

However, the investigation was expanded in August 2025, with prosecutors upgrading the charges to seven different criminal offences, including money laundering, tax evasion, and document forgery.

The case has since widened to target five more independent journalists and media workers arrested throughout 2025.

These include Shamshad Aga, the editor-in-chief of news website Arqument.az, who was detained on 5 February 2025, and freelance reporters Nurlan Libre, Fatima Movlamli, Ulviyya Ali, and Ahmad Mukhtar, who were arrested later that year.

All the detained journalists deny the allegations, maintaining they are politically motivated and intended to shut down the country's last remaining independent voices.