The mass arrests of journalists on smuggling charges continue in Azerbaijan.

On February 6, trials of journalists Shamshad Agayev and Shahnaz Baylarqizi (Huseynova) were held at the Khatai District Court.

The court ruled a 2-month, 1-day pretrial detention for Shamshad Agayev, the editor-in-chief of the "Arqument.az" website, and a 3-month, 15-day pretrial detention for Shahnaz Baylarqizi.

According to Baylarqizi’s relatives, her lawyer, Bakhtiyar Hajiyev, informed Judge Fuad Akhundov that the journalist has two minor children under her care, suffers from serious health problems, and that there is no legal basis for her detention.

Nevertheless, investigator Alibala Hajiyev, who participated in the trial, stated that a new criminal case had been initiated in connection with this matter and that the journalist might influence other members of the alleged organized group. Therefore, he insisted that she must remain in detention.

Shahnaz Baylarqizi also spoke in court and stated that she does not accept the charges, claiming that her arrest is related to her journalistic activities.

According to her lawyer, Bakhtiyar Hajiyev, the current case was separated into a separate proceeding from the "Toplum TV case" on January 21.

"Shahnaz Baylarqizi has been charged under the following articles of the Criminal Code: 162-1.1 (Engaging workers in labor activities without an official employment contract), 192.3.2 (Illegal entrepreneurship with particularly large income), 193-1.3.1 (Legalization of property obtained through criminal means), 193-1.3.2 (...when committed in a significant amount), 206.4 (Smuggling committed by an organized group), 213.2.1 (Tax evasion – when committed by an organized group)."

At another trial presided over by Judge Rafael Sadikhov, lawyer Shahla Humbatova, representing Shamshad Agayev, who was arrested in connection with the "Meydan TV case", argued that there was no legal basis for his detention. She noted that Agayev had already been barred from leaving the country since he was involved as a witness in the "Toplum TV case".

However, investigator Samir Ismayilov did not consider it appropriate for Shamshad Agayev to remain free.

Shamshad Agayev also rejected the charges against him, stating that his arrest is linked to his journalistic activities.

Both journalists were detained on February 5. Their homes were searched, and their personal belongings, phones, and computers were confiscated.

Since November 2023, the human rights situation in Azerbaijan has deteriorated sharply. The government has intensified repression against political opposition, independent civil society, and critical media outlets to an unprecedented degree in modern Azerbaijani political history. Dozens of politicians, civil society activists, and journalists have been unjustly arrested on fabricated charges in politically motivated cases.

According to the latest report by the "Union for the Freedom of Political Prisoners in Azerbaijan", as of December 12, the number of political prisoners in the country stood at 331.

Local and international human rights organizations have denounced the charges against political prisoners as fabricated and have urged the Azerbaijani authorities to immediately release those unjustly detained.

The government, however, consistently denies that anyone in the country has been arrested on political grounds, insisting that all detainees are prosecuted for specific criminal offenses.