The detained employees of the media organization are demanding that those who subjected them to violence at Baku Pretrial Detention Center No. 1 be held accountable.

The detained journalists of "Abzas Media" refused to participate in the court hearing scheduled for February 11. The reason for this decision is the court’s failure to investigate their complaints regarding violence and inhumane treatment at Baku Pretrial Detention Center No. 1.

In a statement released today, the media organization’s employees noted that those responsible for the violence against them have yet to be punished.

“This means that such treatment towards us is ordered by the government. The reason is our efforts to publicize the illegal actions occurring in the detention center. Under no circumstances will we turn a blind eye to these violations,” the statement reads.

The “Abzas” journalists have repeatedly exposed numerous legal violations, as well as instances of physical and psychological abuse they have endured in the detention center. Following these revelations, the detention center’s administration organized provocations against the journalists and created obstacles to their ability to exercise their rights.

In November last year, the publication’s editor-in-chief, Sevinc Vagifqizi, and reporters Nargiz Absalamova and Elnara Gasimova, who were held in the women’s ward, were subjected to violence after protesting the blocking of air vents in their cells. Guards bruised Sevinc Vagifqizi’s arm by trapping it in the vent door. When Nargiz Absalamova objected to this treatment, senior officer Aziza Mammadova insulted her.

A guard named Vahid threatened inmates and coerced them into providing false witness statements against Elnara Gasimova. The women prisoners were pressured to claim they had seen the journalist assaulting a guard.

Additionally, after “Abzas Media” director Ulvi Hasanli reported that 58 people had been tortured at Baku Pretrial Detention Center No. 1 within six months, the center’s chief, Elnur Ismayilov, personally ordered Hasanli’s cellmate to hold a razor to his throat and threaten him with death.

In February of this year, Aygul Babayeva, an employee of the women’s ward at the detention center, used violence against Sevinc Vagifqizi and Nargiz Absalamova. She told the journalists, who protested the abuse, that the order had come "from above."

Because the "Abzas" journalists have exposed illegal activities at the detention center, they have repeatedly faced obstacles in meeting with their families, and their phone calls have been cut off. It has not been possible to obtain a response from the Ministry of Justice's Penitentiary Service regarding these incidents.

The most recent court hearing in the "Abzas Media case" was held on January 21. A new lawyer for the detainee, Mahammad Kekalov, was scheduled to be introduced to the case during the next session, set for February 11.

Since November 20, 2023, six employees of “Abzas Media,” which has been conducting anti-corruption investigations in Azerbaijan, have been detained: director Ulvi Hasanli, his deputy Mahammad Kekalov, editor-in-chief Sevinc Vagifqizi, reporters Nargiz Absalamova and Elnara Gasimova, and investigative journalist Hafiz Babali.

In May of last year, “Azadlıq Radio” journalist and economist Farid Mehralizada was also arrested as part of the "Abzas Media case." On the same day, “Abzas Media” issued a statement asserting that it had no cooperative relationship with Mehralizada.

All of the journalists were initially accused of smuggling.

In August, the charges against those detained in the "Abzas Media case" were escalated. Considering the additional charges brought by the investigation, the journalists face prison sentences ranging from 8 to 12 years.

Both local and international human rights organizations consider these arrests to be politically motivated and are calling for the release of the journalists and the withdrawal of all charges against them.