Detained Azerbaijani Journalist Farid Mehralizada Says Trial Is Politically Motivated

Detained Azerbaijani journalist and economist Farid Mehralizada testified in court on April 8 that his imprisonment was politically motivated, tied directly to his critical reporting for RFE/RL’s Azerbaijani Service, known locally as Azadliq Radiosu.

During his appearance at the Baku Court of Serious Crimes, Mehralizada, 30, detailed the events surrounding his arrest on smuggling charges in late May 2024.

He described being blindfolded and taken to an unknown location before ending up at the Baku City Police Department, where he said he faced physical and psychological pressure to unlock his phone.

"One of the policemen told me, 'You're a young man. Do you really need Azadliq Radiosu? Just keep your head down and live your life,'" he said. "This shows that my arrest was indeed connected to my articles for Azadliq Radiosu."

Additional charges, including illegal entrepreneurship, tax evasion, gang smuggling, and document forgery, have since been added to his case -- accusations he and his supporters call fabricated.

He said prosecutors falsely claimed he held a role with the independent Abzas Media news agency, which has come under pressure from the authorities.

“They probably thought, since they already have a fabricated criminal case in their hands, they would just add me to it and move on,” he said.

Mehralizada, highlighted that his economic analyses frequently criticized Azerbaijan's reliance on oil and gas and questioned official unemployment and poverty statistics.

“Ninety percent of Azerbaijan’s exports and 50 percent of its budget revenues depend on the oil and gas sector, which poses significant risks for the country,” he told the court.

Having been kept in custody since his arrest last year, he told the court that his child was born during his detention and that he has been unable to see his family.

Azerbaijani authorities insist that there is no political motivation behind Mehralizada's detention and that no one in Azerbaijan is held for political reasons.

Rights groups, however, point out that, since November 2023, approximately 20 journalists and social activists have been detained on similar charges, seven of them linked to Abzas Media.

Human rights organizations estimate that at least 300 political prisoners are currently held in Azerbaijani jails, underscoring ongoing criticism of President Ilham Aliyev’s administration.

Since taking power following the death of his predecessor and father Heydar Aliyev in 2003, Ilham Aliyev has faced accusations of suppressing dissent by detaining journalists, opposition figures, and civil-society activists.