Meydan TV journalists held a protest in the courtroom.

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The journalists arrested in the Meydan TV case staged a protest at the court hearing, chanting slogans in defense of freedom of speech.

As reported by the Caucasian Knot, the Meydan TV case was opened in December 2024, when six journalists were detained and later arrested on charges of currency smuggling. They linked the criminal case to their professional activities. By August 2025, 11 people had been arrested in the Meydan TV case. At the end of August, it was announced that the investigation had been completed, and a 12th suspect, photojournalist Ahmed Mukhtar, had appeared in the case. The arrested journalists were also charged with seven more criminal offenses. On December 12, 2025, at the first hearing in the Meydan TV case, the Baku court refused to close the criminal case and release the defendants.

The next hearing in the Meydan TV case was scheduled for May 1 at the Baku Court of Grave Crimes. An activist present in the courtroom told a Caucasian Knot correspondent that the accused journalists, Fatima Movlamli, Aytaj Tapdyg, Aysel Umudova, Khayala Agayeva, and Ulviya Ali, held up posters with the slogans "The Internet is free, speech is blocked!", "Speech is not shackled!", and "Freedom is the main artery of freedom!" before the hearing. They also chanted slogans such as "Journalism is not a crime!" and "Shoulder to shoulder in the squares, shoulder to shoulder in prisons."

Ulviya Ali, addressing those present, reminded those present that May 1st is International Labor Day. "Today, the trial is not of those who shamelessly exploit workers for next to nothing, but of those who illuminate this merciless exploitation. Today, I speak in this hall from the place where my friend Bayram Mamedov spoke 10 years ago. May 2nd is his Memorial Day. It will be five years since his untimely departure from our ranks. We honor his memory," the activist quoted the arrested journalist.

At the end of 2016, Bayram Mamedov, along with another activist, Giyas Ibragimov, was sentenced to 10 years in prison on drug trafficking charges. Both activists described the criminal prosecution as retaliation for graffiti on the pedestal of a monument to Azerbaijani President Heydar Aliyev, which read "Qul bayramınız mübarək!" (Happy Slaves' Day!) and "F**k the system!" (Down with the system!). In March 2019, Mammadov and Ibrahimov were pardoned. In January 2020, the European Court of Human Rights, after examining Mammadov and Ibrahimov's complaints of torture and violations of freedom of speech, awarded them €36,000 each in compensation. In March 2021, the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe called on the Azerbaijani authorities to immediately implement the ECHR's decisions regarding the "Ilgar Mammadov group," which includes Bayram Mammadov and Qiyas Ibrahimov—specifically, to quash their convictions and expunge their criminal records. On May 5, 2021, Bayram Mammadov's friends reported that Turkish police found his body in the sea. Police claimed Mammadov died in an accident, but his friends doubted this.

She also stated that World Press Freedom Day, May 3, is taking place in Azerbaijan amidst the imprisonment of independent journalists. "In a country where those who arrested journalists say, 'We have free media,' this evokes a bitter smile and, at the same time, alarm," Ali said.

When the panel of judges, chaired by Judge Ayten Aliyeva, opened the hearing, it became clear that not all of the defendants' lawyers were present. Despite requests from other lawyers to wait a bit longer because their colleagues were being delayed by traffic jams, the judges adjourned the hearing. An employee of the Baku Grave Crimes Court told the Caucasian Knot correspondent that the next hearing will be held on May 22.

13:05 23.12.2025

Serial Arrests of Journalists in Azerbaijan

Since November 2023, a series of arrests of independent media journalists has taken place in Azerbaijan, and several criminal cases have been opened under a similar scenario. The "Caucasian Knot" report details what led to the new wave of repression against the independent press.

Journalists from other media outlets, including Abzas Media, Toplum TV, and Kanal-13, have also been persecuted in Azerbaijan. On June 20, journalists and employees of Abzas Media were sentenced to imprisonment for terms ranging from 7.5 to 9 years. They denied the charges in court, emphasizing that they were being persecuted for their professional activities and for investigating corruption.

The number of political prisoners in Azerbaijan reached its highest level in 2024 since the country's 23-year membership in the Council of Europe, according to the "Caucasian Knot" report "Key Points on the Record Number of Political Prisoners in Azerbaijan". At the same time, the Azerbaijani authorities deny the presence of political prisoners in the country.