RSF demands release of jailed Azerbaijani journalist over health fears

Aytaj Ahmadova

Media watchdog Reporters Without Borders (RSF) has called for the immediate release of jailed Azerbaijani journalist Aytaj Ahmadova, warning that her health is deteriorating rapidly without access to medical care.

The rights group said Ms Ahmadova, who has been held in detention since December 2024, is being systematically deprived of urgently needed medical treatment in prison.

"Aytaj Ahmadova's health condition is deteriorating rapidly," RSF said in a statement. "Ahmadova, who has been unlawfully detained since December 2024, is not being provided with the urgent medical assistance she requires."

The organisation demanded that authorities immediately ensure her treatment and order her release.

Ms Ahmadova, a journalist with independent online outlet Meydan TV, told a court hearing on 4 July that prison conditions had severely impaired her breathing, adding that she had been forced to use 80 boxes of nasal spray during her 20 months in custody.

Her defence lawyer, Javad Javadov, told the court that a formal request sent to the prison system's Main Medical Department on 19 June regarding her health problems had received no response.

Ms Ahmadova was arrested on 6 December 2024 alongside five fellow Meydan TV employees — Ramin Deko, Aynur Ganbarova, Aysel Umudova, Khayala Agayeva, and Natiq Javadli — as well as civil society member Ulvi Tahirov.

Authorities initially charged the group with smuggling under Article 206.3.2 of Azerbaijan's Criminal Code, alleging offences committed by a pre-arranged group.

The crackdown on media personnel linked to Meydan TV expanded throughout 2025 with a wave of further arrests, including journalists Shamshad Agayev, Nurlan Libre, Fatima Movlamli, Ulviyya Ali, and Ahmad Mukhtar.

In August 2025, prosecutors significantly escalated the case, bringing the total number of criminal counts against the detained journalists to seven.

The jailed journalists reject all charges, maintaining that the prosecution is politically motivated and designed to crush independent journalism and suppress free speech in Azerbaijan.