CPJ condemns persecution of Azerbaijani journalists amid two high-profile convictions

The International Committee to Protect Journalists calls on the Azerbaijani authorities to stop persecuting journalists in exile. The organization's statement came after the sentencing of two journalists working in political exile – Sevinj Osmangizi and Ganimat Zahid.

As reported by the "Caucasian Knot," in March 2025, six political exiles were charged in absentia in Baku on criminal charges. Gurban Mammadov, head of the Azerfredoom YouTube channel; Tural Sadigli, head of the Azad Soz YouTube channel; bloggers Muhammad Mirzali, Elshad Mammadov, and Gabil Mammadov; and Ilgar Hajiyev, entrepreneur and former head of the major Azerbaijani company Akkord, were summoned for questioning in Baku. On November 13, 2025, Sevinj Osmangizi, a journalist who had left for the United States and head of the YouTube channel Osmanqızı TV, was summoned for questioning by the Prosecutor General's Office of Azerbaijan. If she failed to appear, the office threatened to sentence her in absentia on charges of incitement against the state and calls for mass unrest.

The International Committee to Protect Journalists is calling on Azerbaijani authorities to cease persecuting exiled journalists after a court on January 14 sentenced US-based journalist Sevinj Osmangizi in absentia to eight years in prison on charges of inciting mass unrest and overthrowing the state. This decision, according to a CPJ statement received by a Caucasian Knot correspondent on January 19, follows the seven-year prison sentence handed down on December 23, 2025, by an Azerbaijani court to France-based journalist Ganimat Zahid on charges of calling for the overthrow of the state.

Both Azerbaijani journalists, who have received political asylum in their countries of residence, told CPJ they deny the charges and view them as retaliation for their journalistic work.

"Having suppressed independent journalism at home through mass arrests and sham trials, Azerbaijani authorities now seek to intimidate leading exiled journalists into silence," said Gulnoza Said, CPJ's Europe and Central Asia program coordinator. "Azerbaijan must stop this egregious transnational repression. "European countries and the United States must ensure full protection for exiled journalists persecuted by Azerbaijan," she added.

The journalists convicted in absentia told CPJ that the only information they received about the charges against them was contained in brief reports in Azerbaijani media.

Osmangizi called the charges "completely fabricated." "This is what they use against critics, both domestically and internationally," she said.

Osmangizi, a former BBC correspondent, fled Azerbaijan in 2012 under government pressure for her work for the now-closed ANS television station. Since 2019, she has run the YouTube channel Osmanqizi TV, which has more than 400,000 subscribers and is one of the most popular sources for current affairs analysis in Azerbaijan, CPJ said in a statement.

In 2019, CPJ reported how pro-government media threatened to publish intimate photos of Osmanqizi unless she ceased her work. In 2024, a prominent member of Azerbaijan's parliament called her a "legitimate target" for "neutralization by any means necessary," CPJ said in a statement.

Zakhid, who has lived in exile since 2011, is the editor-in-chief of the opposition publication Azadlig, which has been blocked in Azerbaijan since 2017 and is a frequent target of the authorities. He runs the popular Azerbaijani YouTube channel Azərbaycan saatı (“Azerbaijani Hour”), which has over 400,000 subscribers and covers current events.

“These decisions follow an unprecedented crackdown on civil society and independent media in Azerbaijan that began in late 2023, resulting in at least 26 journalists and media workers currently behind bars. Over the past year, Azerbaijan has brought serious criminal charges in absentia against dozens of exiled government critics,” CPJ said in a statement.

According to Osmanqizi, her sentence is also an attempt to discredit the YouTube channel Osmanqizi TV in order to discourage Azerbaijanis from working with her.

“At one time, politician Ali Aliyev was sentenced to prison terms three times for interviews on my "channel. Others were subjected to pressure. Some were coaxed, others intimidated, into appearing on Osmanqizi TV. I don't want to name them, so as not to expose them to further risk. That's why I often speak out on the most sensitive topics on my own show, abandoning the usual format of a journalistic interview," Osmanqizi told a "Caucasian Knot" correspondent.

At the same time, she considers the verdict a recognition by the authorities of the importance of her work for society. "In recent months, journalists in Azerbaijan who are favorable to the authorities have been awarded medals for the '150th Anniversary of the Azerbaijani Press' and then forced to write posts of gratitude. And the sentences handed down to me and other journalists and bloggers in exile on absurd charges are actually our 'awards.' We are being arrested for speaking out about what concerns people in Azerbaijan, about their problems, about the violation and abuse of their rights, about the arbitrariness... "People face this. By persecuting us and opening spurious criminal cases, the authorities recognize the importance of our work in objectively informing the public," Osmangyzy said.

Zahid Zahid commented sarcastically on his sentence on social media. "I am considered a 'convict', literally and figuratively. The Baku Court of Grave Crimes sentenced me to seven years in prison. See you in 2032!" Zahid wrote on his Facebook page*.

An employee of the Baku Court of Grave Crimes confirmed to a Caucasian Knot correspondent that Sevinj Mirzoyeva (Osmangyzy) and Ganimat Zayidov (Zahid) were indeed sentenced to eight and seven years in prison, respectively. He noted that the law provides for trials in absentia.