Journalist Mehralizade, imprisoned in Azerbaijan, has been awarded the National Press Club Award.

Journalist Farid Mehralizade, serving a sentence in an Azerbaijani prison, has been awarded the 2025 John Aubuchon Press Freedom Award. U.S. Congressman James McGovern called for Mehralizade's release and the dismissal of charges against his wife, activist Nargiz Mukhtarova.

As reported by the "Caucasian Knot," on June 20, a court sentenced journalists and staff members of the Azerbaijani online publication Abzas Media to lengthy prison terms. The publication's director, Ulvi Hasanli, editor-in-chief, Sevinj Vagifgizi, investigative journalist Hafiz Babali, and economist Farid Mehralizade received nine years in prison each, Nargiz Absalamova and Elnara Gasimova received eight years each, and Mohammed Kekalov received seven years. On September 9, an appeals court upheld the sentence.

Mehralizadeh was among nine journalists honored by the National Press Club of the United States with the 2025 John Aubuchon Press Freedom Award. All of the journalists were associated with the U.S. Agency for Global Media (USAGM) and remain in prison abroad following the agency's dissolution in early 2025.

"The Club's Board of Directors agreed that this award is intended to both honor the courage of journalists who engaged in journalism in parts of the world that are often dangerous for journalists and to draw attention to what it calls the failure of the United States government to protect reporters imprisoned for work that advanced the ideals of free speech in the United States," the National Press Club said in a statement.

The Aubuchon Award, named for the late president of the National Press Club, John Aubuchon, is the organization's highest press freedom honor. It is presented annually to journalists both in the United States and abroad who risk their lives and liberty in pursuit of the truth. In addition to Mehralizadeh, eight other journalists have received the award, including two from Myanmar, five from Vietnam, and Nika Novak, a Russian woman who was sentenced to four years in prison for collaborating confidentially with a foreign organization.

"Their imprisonment should outrage anyone who believes in America's commitment to freedom. These reporters advanced American values of transparency and free speech, and yet they have been left behind. "Their departure is a stain on our country's reputation and a reminder of what happens when we retreat from defending press freedom," said Mike Balsamo, president of the National Press Club.

Following the appeals court's rejection, Mekhralizade has already been sent to a correctional facility, and his defense is preparing a cassation appeal to the Supreme Court, relatives of the journalist told the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent.

It should be noted that his wife, activist Nargiz Mukhtarova, is under police surveillance, and her trial is underway in the Baku Court of Grave Crimes as a defendant in a large-scale case against "a number of local and foreign NGOs."

It should be noted that in late October, Democratic Co-Chairman of the U.S. House Human Rights Committee James McGovern wrote a letter to Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev expressing concern about the criminal prosecution of Nargiz Mukhtarova and the continued imprisonment of Farid Mehralizade.

"The charges against Nargiz are baseless and appear to be a continuation of the pressure on her husband for his independent, Congress-funded journalism. I urge your government to drop the charges against Nargiz and release Farid so he can be reunited with his family. I am particularly concerned about the impact of this situation on Farid and Nargiz's young daughter. She was born while her father was unjustly imprisoned, and now her mother also faces imprisonment. "The prospect of a one-year-old child being left without parents is unacceptable," the letter states, quoting the American congressman.

Azerbaijani authorities deny allegations of persecution of government critics. "Freedom of the media is ensured in Azerbaijan. There is no censorship in Azerbaijan, [but] there is a free internet, and hundreds of media outlets operate. Therefore, it would be unfair to criticize Azerbaijan for actions allegedly aimed at hindering the development of the media. What kind of restrictions can we talk about with a free internet?" - Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev stated in April 2024 in Berlin at a joint press conference with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz. Aliyev linked the arrests of journalists to "illegal financing from abroad."