Azerbaijan, accused of stifling press, puts 7 news staff on trial

BAKU (Reuters) - Seven people went on trial in Azerbaijan on Tuesday in the latest of a series of cases against staff of independent news media, prompting accusations of a crackdown on the press.

Six of the defendants are affiliated with Abzas Media, an independent outlet focused on corruption and human rights in the South Caucasus country, which ranks 164th of 180 countries in Reporters without Borders' (RSF) World Press Freedom Index.

The seventh is a reporter with the Azeri language service of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL), a U.S.-government funded outlet.

International press freedom groups have demanded the release of the Abzas staff, casting their arrest as an attempt by the authorities to silence their anti-corruption reporting.

President Ilham Aliyev has rejected criticism over the arrests of journalists and said Azerbaijan has "a free press and a free internet."

"We must protect our media landscape from external negative influences, just like any other country," he said during a visit to Germany last year.

The first arrests in the case were made in November 2023 after authorities said they had found 40,000 euros ($41,000) in cash in Abzas Media's Baku offices. The defendants face up to 12 years in prison if convicted on charges of smuggling.

Those on trial include the organisation's editor-in-chief Sevinj Vagifgizi, director Ulvi Hasanli, translator Mahammad Kekalov, staff journalists Nargiz Absalamova and Elnara Gasimova, and freelance journalist Hafiz Babali. They all deny the smuggling charges.

Hasanli said in court on Tuesday that investigators had themselves planted the money in Abzas' offices during the search.

"I demanded the banknotes be examined to determine whether they had my fingerprints on them," he said. "But (investigators) refused to conduct the examination because they knew they weren't there."

A journalist for RFE/RL, Farid Mehralizada, is also on trial related to the Abzas case. In a statement, RFE/RL President and CEO Stephen Capus called the charges against Mehralizada "baseless" and said the journalist had never worked for Abzas Media.

The trial is set to resume on Feb. 11.

Former U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken last month urged Azerbaijan to release several human rights advocates, government critics and journalists, including Vagifgizi.

At least 20 independent media professionals are currently behind bars there, according to RSF.

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(Reporting by Nailia Bagirova in Baku; Writing by Lucy Papachristou in London; Editing by Mark Trevelyan)