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The journalists were remanded in custody for 4 months while the investigation continues.
On 8 December, a trial was held in the Khatai District Court of Baku on a criminal case filed against Meydan TV employees.
As a result, the court remanded the journalists in custody for 4 months while the investigation continues.
On 6 December, Meydan TV employees Ramin Deko (Jabrailzade), Aynur Elgunesh (Ganbarova), Aysel Umudova, Aytaj Tapdig (Ahmadova), Khayala Agayeva, and Natig Javadli were detained on suspicion of “smuggling.”
A crime was filed against the journalists under Article 206.3.2 of the Criminal Code (smuggling committed by a group of persons in prior collusion).
The homes of most of the detained journalists were searched, and their equipment and personal belongings were seized.
The court also sentenced another detainee, civil society member and media worker Ulvi Tahirov, who was not a Meydan TV employee but was detained on the same day as them, to 4 months in pretrial detention.
Meydan TV management issued a statement, noting that the charges made by the police are unfounded and that the detention of the journalists is illegal and is also a repression against independent media.
Since November 2023, dozens of journalists have been arrested in Azerbaijan on charges of “smuggling.”
Local and international human rights organizations consider the charges trumped up and call for the journalists’ immediate release.
The post Meydan TV employees remanded for 4 months appeared first on MEYDAN.TV.
A large number of employees from yet another independent media outlet in Azerbaijan, Meydan TV, have been arrested. Among those detained are individuals who claimed they did not cooperate with the organization. Like the previously arrested journalists, they have been charged with smuggling. The journalists reject the charges, stating that the arrests are related to their professional activities.
This is the third media outlet to face mass arrests. Prior to this, seven people were arrested in the “Abzas Media” case and seven more in the “Toplum TV” case, with two individuals placed under police supervision.
On Sunday, December 8, employees of Meydan TV and several other media representatives who were detained two days earlier appeared before court. The Khatai District Court of Baku ruled that the following individuals from Meydan TV—Aynur Elgunesh (Gambarova), Natig Dzhavadly, Khayala Agaeva, Aysel Umudova, Aytaj Tapdyg (Akhmedova), independent journalist Ramin Deko (Jebrailzade), and the deputy director of the Baku Journalism School, Ulvi Tahirov—who are charged under Article 206.3.2 (smuggling committed by a group of individuals in advance) of the Azerbaijani Criminal Code, would be held in custody for four months.
The charges carry a potential prison sentence of 5 to 8 years.
Meydan TV has previously faced criminal charges. The first case against the publication was initiated in 2015. Despite multiple interrogations of journalists working with the outlet by the Investigation Department for Serious Crimes of the General Prosecutor’s Office, the details of the criminal case have not been made public. Dozens of media representatives who were questioned as witnesses in the case were banned from leaving the country, with this ban lasting up to 5 years.
Elchin Sadigov, Aynur Elgunesh’s lawyer, reported that “on December 6, police raided the journalist’s apartment, seized her computer and other personal belongings, and used force.”
“In court, Aynur stated that they are being persecuted for their investigations and critical materials published by Meydan TV. She also wrote in the protocol that she is a journalist, and journalism is not a crime,” he said.
Agil Layij, Aysel Umudova’s lawyer, called the court’s decision “unfounded and illegal.”
“Aysel is in poor health. She required emergency medical assistance both when she was detained at the Baku City Police Department and at the temporary detention facility of the Khatai District Police Department.
We don’t know what smuggling they are referring to in Aysel Umudova’s case. She noted that her exit from the country was banned for a long time, and smuggling could not have taken place during that period. After the ban was lifted, she filled out a customs declaration every time she traveled abroad for educational purposes to avoid similar accusations in the future. Aysel knew that practicing journalism in Azerbaijan was dangerous. Moreover, she was subjected to strict checks every time she passed through customs,” Layij said.
The lawyers for the other detainees also highlighted the lack of grounds and primary evidence for the detention measures against their clients.
Each journalist emphasized that their arrest is related to their professional activities.
According to Bahruz Bayramov, the lawyer for Ulvi Tahirov, his client has no connection to Meydan TV.
“They were simply family friends with Aynur Elgunesh. During a search of Takhirov’s home, a large sum of money was seized. However, Tahirov stated that the money belongs to his wife, as a taxpayer. She has service contracts and receives a salary for work performed. Tahirov himself has not traveled abroad since 2022.”
On December 6, independent journalist Ramin Deko was detained at the airport while returning to Azerbaijan from Georgia. At the same time, Meydan TV employees Aynur Elgunesh, Khayala Agaeva, Aytaj Tapdyg, Aysel Umudova, and Natig Dzhavadly were arrested at their homes. Soon after, it was revealed that a criminal case had been opened against them on charges of smuggling.
The initial statement from the Ministry of Internal Affairs said that Ramin Jabrailzade (Deko) was detained on suspicion of currency smuggling. It was also noted that several other people had been arrested, suspected of conspiring with him.
In the following hours, it was reported that, in addition to Ramin Deko and the five Meydan TV employees, several other individuals had been detained. On December 7, Orkhan Mamed, the editor of Meydan TV’s website, who resides in Germany, published a list of these people.
“Among the detainees are independent photojournalist Ahmed Mukhtar, media representative Ulvi Tahirov, sports journalist Rashad Ergun, animal rights activist Kamran Mamedli, and relatives of the detained journalists, Elnur Jabrailzade and Yunis Rzaev,” Orkhan Mamed wrote on social media.
Photojournalist Ahmed Mukhtar was charged under Articles 510 (minor hooliganism, similar to disorder conduct) and 535 (willful disobedience to a lawful police order) of the Code of Administrative Offenses and was sentenced to 20 days of administrative detention on December 8.
Yunis Rzaev, Kamran Mamedli, Rashad Ergun, and Elnur Jabrailzade were released from the Baku City Police Department one day after their detention.
The journalists were remanded in custody for 4 months while the investigation continues.
On 8 December, a trial was held in the Khatai District Court of Baku on a criminal case filed against Meydan TV employees.
As a result, the court remanded the journalists in custody for 4 months while the investigation continues.
On 6 December, Meydan TV employees Ramin Deko (Jabrailzade), Aynur Elgunesh (Ganbarova), Aysel Umudova, Aytaj Tapdig (Ahmadova), Khayala Agayeva, and Natig Javadli were detained on suspicion of “smuggling.”
A crime was filed against the journalists under Article 206.3.2 of the Criminal Code (smuggling committed by a group of persons in prior collusion).
The homes of most of the detained journalists were searched, and their equipment and personal belongings were seized.
The court also sentenced another detainee, civil society member and media worker Ulvi Tahirov, who was not a Meydan TV employee but was detained on the same day as them, to 4 months in pretrial detention.
Meydan TV management issued a statement, noting that the charges made by the police are unfounded and that the detention of the journalists is illegal and is also a repression against independent media.
Since November 2023, dozens of journalists have been arrested in Azerbaijan on charges of “smuggling.”
Local and international human rights organizations consider the charges trumped up and call for the journalists’ immediate release.
The post Meydan TV employees remanded for 4 months appeared first on MEYDAN.TV.