On December 12, a preparatory hearing will be held at the Baku Court for Serious Crimes regarding the criminal case of 12 journalists arrested in the “Meydan TV case.”
The session will be presided over by Judge Aytan Aliyeva.
The journalists arrested in the “Meydan TV case” are accused under several articles of the Criminal Code: 192.2.2 (illegal entrepreneurship with the purpose of obtaining large income), 192.2.3 (committed by an organized group), 193-1.3.1 (legalization of property obtained by criminal means), 193-1.3.2 (committed in large amounts), 206.4 (smuggling by an organized group), 213.2.1 (tax evasion by an organized group), as well as 320.1 (forgery of documents) and 320.2 (use of forged documents).
The first arrests in this case began on December 6, 2024. On that day, Meydan TV employees Aynur Ganbarova (Elgunash), Aytaj Ahmadova (Tapdig), Khayala Aghayeva, Aysel Umudova, Ramin Jabrayilzada (Deko), and Natig Javadli, as well as the deputy director of the Baku School of Journalism, Ulvi Tahirov, were detained.
In the following months, four more journalists were arrested in the same case: in February, the editor-in-chief of the site “arqument.az” and Meydan TV collaborator Shamshad Ağayev (Agha), Nurlan Gahramanli (Libre), Fatima Movlamli; in May, Ulviyya Ali (Guliyeva); and in August, photojournalist Ahməd Mukhtar.
The journalists deny all charges and claim that they have been targeted due to political motives and their professional activities.
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