The journalists' coalition has made the fight for Vagifgyzy's release a priority.

Sevinj Vagifgizi, the editor-in-chief of the Azerbaijani publication Abzas Media and a nine-year prison sentence holder, has been included in the annual "10 Most Urgent" list published by the international coalition One Free Press Coalition. Vagifgizi's case, like that of other journalists on the list, is related to the persecution of journalists for their professional activities, the coalition noted.

As reported by "Caucasian Knot," in June 2025, a Baku court found employees of the online publication Abzas Media guilty of economic crimes. The publication's director, Ulvi Hasanli, editor-in-chief, Sevinj Vagifgizi, investigative journalist Hafiz Babali, and economist Farid Mehralizade were sentenced to nine years in prison, Nargiz Absalamova and Elnara Gasimova to eight years, and Mohammed Kekalov to seven. On March 6, Mehralizade, and on March 13, Ulvi Hasanli, pleaded not guilty at cassation appeal hearings and demanded that the verdict be overturned. On April 3, the Supreme Court upheld the sentences of all those convicted in the case. International journalistic organizations demanded the release of those convicted in the case.

On World Press Freedom Day (May 3), the international coalition of media organizations, One Free Press Coalition, published its annual "10 Most Urgent" list of imprisoned journalists worldwide who need to be immediately released. Among them is Azerbaijani journalist Sevinj Vagifgizi, editor-in-chief of Abzas Media, who has been in prison for three years.

The coalition, which includes more than 40 global media organizations and has access to an audience of over 1 billion people, aims to draw attention to the cases of 10 journalists facing persecution for their work by 2026.

The coalition's statement notes that Sevinj Vagifgizi, editor-in-chief of the anti-corruption investigative publication Abzas Media, is serving a nine-year prison sentence in Azerbaijan. She is one of 24 journalists currently in custody amid a crackdown on independent media in the country since 2023.

She was sentenced to prison in mid-2025 on financial crime charges related to allegedly accepting funds from Western donors and conspiring to smuggle a large sum of money into the country.

Vagifgizi, 36, and her colleagues have denied all charges, claiming in their appeal that the case is retaliation for "a series of corruption investigations" committed by high-ranking officials in the country, the One Free Press Coalition emphasizes.

Along with Sevinj Vagifgizi, the list also includes Reza Valizadeh from Iran, Jimmy Lai from Hong Kong, Pham Doan Trang from Vietnam, Zhang Zan from China, Ulfathonim Mamadshoeva from Tajikistan, Xi Conrad from Cameroon, Franchi Mai Cumpio from the Philippines, Genet Asmamaw from Ethiopia, and Christophe Gleizes from Algeria.

Vagifgizi has been included in the "10 Most Urgent" list for the second year in a row.

At the same time, as noted in the report, three journalists included in the 2025 list were released last May. They are Vladislav Esipenko, who has been imprisoned in Crimea since 2021, Shin Dewe, detained in Myanmar since October 2023, and Igor Losik, who was imprisoned in Belarus.

Vagifgizi's lawyer, Elchin Sadigov, told a "Caucasian Knot" correspondent that the defense is preparing a complaint against the decisions of the Azerbaijani courts to the European Court of Human Rights. The defense considers the journalist's persecution unlawful, related to her professional activities, and contrary to the provisions of the European Convention on Human Rights, which guarantees freedom of expression and personal freedoms.

International organizations have recognized Vagifgizi's contribution to investigative journalism

As reported by the "Caucasian Knot," a protest against the persecution of independent journalists in Azerbaijan took place in Paris on January 28. The event was held to mark 800 days of imprisonment for journalist Sevinj Vagifgyzy.

Sevinj Vagifgyzy also won the 2025 Anna Politkovskaya-Arman Solden International Journalism Prize for Journalistic Courage.

Vagifgyzy was also awarded the Freedom of the Press Prize in the Courage category. The publication's director accepted the award, presented by an international organization dedicated to protecting journalists, on behalf of Vagifgyzy.

Source:

© Caucasian Knot

Author: Faik Majid, source, Caucasian Knot correspondent