A period of thirty-five years in Azerbaijan’s history that spanned over three decades from the late 1960s to the early 21st century is associated with the name of the National Leader – Heydar Aliyev. The responsibility of true leadership within this period reflected the most arduous and difficult trials.
Day: December 11, 2024
Anthony Blinken: “She returned knowing that she might be arrested on arrival.”
The U.S. Department of State awarded Sevinj Vagifgizi, the editor-in-chief of AbzasMedia, with the “Champions of Combating Corruption” award.
Sevinj is known for her work on corruption investigations, and she is currently imprisoned.
In his speech, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken highlighted Sevinj’s devotion over the past decade in exposing government abuses.
“She is also the one awardee who is not with us this afternoon. In November 2023, Sevinj flew home from an overseas country amid a crackdown on Azerbaijani independent media. She returned knowing that she might be arrested on arrival. She was. Now, more than a year later, she remains in detention. Prior to her arrest Sevinj wrote and I quote, ‘I don’t feel fear anymore. I know what they can do. It does not stop me. It is more important to be useful to the people. People need us’”
-Antony Blinken
Blinken also expressed gratitude to the ten anti-corruption champions for their courage. He said it was an honor to partner with them in this fight. The Department of State created the “Champions of Combating Corruption” award in 2021 to recognize individuals who have made significant progress in fighting corruption and to show the U.S. government’s solidarity with them.
This year’s award recipients include journalists, human rights defenders, judges, and even government officials who have facilitated major institutional changes. Other awardees include Jorge Mora Cortes from Colombia, Matrika Daxal from Nepal, Altin Dumani from Albania, Srbukhy Galyan from Armenia, Carl Irani from Lebanon, Marr Nyang from Gambia, Javier Enrique Caraballo Salazar from Panama, Didar Smagulov from Kazakhstan, and Jimmy Spyre Ssentongo from Uganda. Blinken emphasized that each recipient made a difficult decision to help their own citizens and all the people around the world, and their dedication, along with those of others, we are in a better place now.
AbzasMedia, the organization behind Sevinj’s work, has also faced significant challenges. Six of its employees, including the general manager Ulvi Hasanlı, assistant Muhammad Kekalov, editor Sevinj Vagifgiz, reporters Nargiz Absalamova and Elnara Gasimova, and investigative journalist Hafız Babali, have been arrested. These individuals are facing charges of smuggling, with some detained since November 2023.
On May 31, 2024, journalist and economist Farid Mehralizade from the “Azadlig” radio station was arrested, and a search was conducted at his home. He was accused under Article 206.3.2 of the Penal Code, which concerns smuggling by a group of individuals who had previously made secret agreements. The Khatai District Court decided to detain him for security reasons. On the same day, AbzasMedia issued a statement declaring that Mehralizade had no connection to the media organization.
Following this, each of the detainees in the AbzasMedia case was faced with additional serious charges related to financial matters. Since November 2023, nearly 20 journalists and social activists have been arrested in Azerbaijan on smuggling charges. None of these individuals have been charged based on their professional activities or political affiliations.
According to local human rights organizations, there are currently around 300 political prisoners in Azerbaijani prisons. Authorities typically assert that no one has been detained solely for political reasons related to their professional activities. However, both local and international human rights organizations believe these arrests are politically motivated, and they are calling for the release of the detainees and the withdrawal of the charges against them.
The post Sevinj Vagifgizi honored as anti-corruption champion appeared first on MEYDAN.TV.
Director General of Mtavari TV, Giorgi Gabunia, said today that one of the channel’s founders, Zaza Okuashvili, is exerting pressure on the channel to close. He accused Okuasvhili of trying to patch up a business dispute with Bidzina Ivanishvili, patron of the ruling Georgian Dream party, by putting the opposition-leaning Mtavari TV off the air during the ongoing crisis.
Gabunia was appointed director general in February 2024, after his predecessor, Nika Gvaramia, was controversially arrested in relation to business dealings in his previous company, Rustavi 2 TV, and sentenced to six months in prison in 2022. Gvaramia was pardoned by President Salome Zurabishvili in June, 2023 and currently is at the helm of one of the opposition Coalition for Georgia. Aiming to start a political career, also in 2024, Gvaramia quit Mtavari TV management and transferred his 12% ownership shares to his wife. In the context of ongoing protests, Gvaramia was arrested following a raid on his party offices on December 4 and sentenced to 12 days imprisonment on charges of petty hooliganism and disobeying the police.
What is going on?
Gabunia said one of the three co-directors, Gogi Kurdadze, acted at Okuashvili’s behest and blocked critical transactions and contracts, including health insurance agreements for employees.
The Director General slammed Okuashvili for “putting personal goals ahead of the well-being of the station and its staff,” saying that if the stoppage of financial operations continues, the channel will be taken off the air.
Despite the challenges, Gabunia assured the public that the channel would continue to operate as long as possible.
“We will stand with our colleagues in the hottest spots and tell you what is happening, where the fate of Georgia is being decided,” Gabunia said.
Also Read:
- 06/12/2024 – Judge Sentences Nika Gvaramia to 12 Days in Prison
- 28/02/2024 – Mtavari TV’s Gvaramia Quits Management, Transfers Shares
- 20/06/2023 – Court Orders Rustavi 2 TV to Compensate Giorgi Gabunia
Improving the large language models behind Gemini’s AI assistant has already enabled Google to offer a limited number of video content creators the ability to automatically dub their videos in various languages. Now, access to this feature has been expanded to include creators of cognitive and educational content, Azernews reports.
Anthony Blinken: “She returned knowing that she might be arrested on arrival.”
The U.S. Department of State awarded Sevinj Vagifgizi, the editor-in-chief of AbzasMedia, with the “Champions of Combating Corruption” award.
Sevinj is known for her work on corruption investigations, and she is currently imprisoned.
In his speech, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken highlighted Sevinj’s devotion over the past decade in exposing government abuses.
“She is also the one awardee who is not with us this afternoon. In November 2023, Sevinj flew home from an overseas country amid a crackdown on Azerbaijani independent media. She returned knowing that she might be arrested on arrival. She was. Now, more than a year later, she remains in detention. Prior to her arrest Sevinj wrote and I quote, ‘I don’t feel fear anymore. I know what they can do. It does not stop me. It is more important to be useful to the people. People need us’”
-Antony Blinken
Blinken also expressed gratitude to the ten anti-corruption champions for their courage. He said it was an honor to partner with them in this fight. The Department of State created the “Champions of Combating Corruption” award in 2021 to recognize individuals who have made significant progress in fighting corruption and to show the U.S. government’s solidarity with them.
This year’s award recipients include journalists, human rights defenders, judges, and even government officials who have facilitated major institutional changes. Other awardees include Jorge Mora Cortes from Colombia, Matrika Daxal from Nepal, Altin Dumani from Albania, Srbukhy Galyan from Armenia, Carl Irani from Lebanon, Marr Nyang from Gambia, Javier Enrique Caraballo Salazar from Panama, Didar Smagulov from Kazakhstan, and Jimmy Spyre Ssentongo from Uganda. Blinken emphasized that each recipient made a difficult decision to help their own citizens and all the people around the world, and their dedication, along with those of others, we are in a better place now.
AbzasMedia, the organization behind Sevinj’s work, has also faced significant challenges. Six of its employees, including the general manager Ulvi Hasanlı, assistant Muhammad Kekalov, editor Sevinj Vagifgiz, reporters Nargiz Absalamova and Elnara Gasimova, and investigative journalist Hafız Babali, have been arrested. These individuals are facing charges of smuggling, with some detained since November 2023.
On May 31, 2024, journalist and economist Farid Mehralizade from the “Azadlig” radio station was arrested, and a search was conducted at his home. He was accused under Article 206.3.2 of the Penal Code, which concerns smuggling by a group of individuals who had previously made secret agreements. The Khatai District Court decided to detain him for security reasons. On the same day, AbzasMedia issued a statement declaring that Mehralizade had no connection to the media organization.
Following this, each of the detainees in the AbzasMedia case was faced with additional serious charges related to financial matters. Since November 2023, nearly 20 journalists and social activists have been arrested in Azerbaijan on smuggling charges. None of these individuals have been charged based on their professional activities or political affiliations.
According to local human rights organizations, there are currently around 300 political prisoners in Azerbaijani prisons. Authorities typically assert that no one has been detained solely for political reasons related to their professional activities. However, both local and international human rights organizations believe these arrests are politically motivated, and they are calling for the release of the detainees and the withdrawal of the charges against them.
The post Sevinj Vagifgizi honored as anti-corruption champion appeared first on MEYDAN.TV.
Arrest of professor and four students in Batumi
In Georgia, four students and the dean of Batumi Arts University, Mamuka Jorbenadze, were ordered to remain in custody on December 11, pending trial. Authorities accuse them of group assault but have not disclosed details about a prior political dispute that reportedly preceded the incident.
If convicted, they face up to two years in prison.
Professor Mamuka Jorbenadze and his students—22-year-old Giorgi Davitadze, 20-year-old Andro Kakabadze, 21-year-old David Gianidze, and 20-year-old Guram Mikeladze—are active participants in Georgia’s pro-European movement.
Professor Mamuka Jorbenadze supported university students when they decided to strike in protest of the government’s November 28 decision to halt EU membership talks until 2028.
The incident that led to the arrest of Jorbenadze and four students occurred on December 3, after the students hung a protest banner on the university building. Lecturer Tea Tsaguria opposed the act, removed the banner, and sparked a confrontation.
According to Batumelebi, the students described the events during a court hearing:
“Tea Tsaguria opposed our strike, calling us supporters of the opposition ‘National Movement’ party and criminals. She showed us footage from 2012, while Mamuka Jorbenadze defended us.”
The situation escalated when a verbal altercation erupted between Jorbenadze and Tsaguria. Tsaguria then called her husband, Irakli Devadze, a senior official at Batumi City Hall and deputy director of the Municipal Service Development Agency.
Devadze arrived at the university with his associate, Irakli Nakashidze.
Prosecutors allege that professor Jorbenadze subsequently attacked Devadze and Nakashidze.
During the court hearing, the defendants’ lawyer sought to draw the judges’ attention to several key points:
1. Threats and insults sent to the professor: The lawyer presented evidence showing that Irakli Devadze had sent threats and insults to Professor Jorbenadze via text messages before arriving at the university. However, the court did not consider this evidence.
The lawyer submitted screenshots of the messages, which included the following: “You bastard and fascist, I will punish you in front of everyone.”
2. Delay in investigation: The lawyer questioned why the incident occurred on December 3 but the investigation only began three days later, on December 6.
Journalists from Batumelebi also raised the question of how evidence of physical violence was established given that the forensic examination was conducted at least three days after the incident. The court did not provide an answer to this inquiry.
3. Video evidence implicates Nakashidze: Surveillance camera footage clearly shows that Irakli Nakashidze, who had come to the university with Devadze, was the initiator of the physical violence. The lawyer stated:
“This ‘bandit,’ this ‘titushka,’ was specifically brought there to punish the disobedient professor. Devadze insulted the professor, and Nakashidze started the fight. The students saw their professor being attacked and, evidently, tried to protect him,” Batumelebi quotes the lawyer as saying.
4. The lawyers urged the judges to recognize that there was no need for the detainees to remain in pretrial detention.
“This incident took place on December 3, the investigation began on December 6, the court ruled on their arrest on December 7, and they were detained on December 9. Given this timeline, what is the point of keeping them under arrest?” said lawyer Shota Khorava.
However, none of the lawyers’ arguments were accepted by the court.
A large group of Batumi residents gathered outside the city court building to show support for the professor and students.
One of the arrested students, Anri Kakabadze, is a talented pianist and a winner of numerous competitions.
Nino Jvania, a lecturer at the Tbilisi State Conservatory and pianist, published a video of Anri Kakabadze’s performance and expressed her outrage over his arrest.
“Anri Kakabadze, a first-year piano student and pupil of Professor Nino Katamadze, is a gifted pianist and a laureate of many national and international competitions. I was a member of the entrance examination committee when all five members awarded him the highest score of 100. And now Anri will have to spend two months in prison?
I demand the immediate release of all five detainees! How could it have come to this!“