International human rights organisations have called for the release of journalists detained in the “Abzas Media case” ahead of a critical court hearing scheduled for today in Baku.

On May 20, prosecutors demanded a combined 80-year prison sentence for the defendants, including six members of the independent news outlet Abzas Media and Farid Mehralizade, a journalist with RFE/RL’s Azerbaijani Service.

In a statement, Amnesty International’s Eastern Europe and Central Asia regional office said the journalists have faced intimidation, pressure, and injustice throughout their detention.

“The only “crime” these journalists committed was delivering the truth to the public. They must be released immediately,” the organisation stated.

Gulnoza Said, Europe and Central Asia Program Coordinator at the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), also criticised the proceedings:

““As prosecutors seek a combined 80 years in prison for six journalists from investigative outlet Abzas Media and RFE/RL’s Farid Mehralizada, the upcoming verdict in their trial will be a verdict on whether Azerbaijan will crush independent reporting,” she said.

“With almost 20 other journalists facing trial on similar charges, the international community must be clear that there can be no more ‘business as usual’ with Azerbaijan if it mass incarcerates members of the press.”

The court session on 20 June is expected to include the final statements from the journalists, followed by the announcement of the verdict.

Since November 20, 2023, six Abzas Media staff members have been in custody: director Ulvi Hasanli, deputy Mammad Kekalov, editor-in-chief Sevinj Vagifgizi, and reporters Nargiz Absalamova and Elnara Gasimova, along with investigative journalist Hafiz Babali.

In May 2023, economist and “Radio Free Europe” journalist Farid Mehralizade was also arrested in connection with the case. That same day, Abzas Media issued a statement saying it had no professional affiliation with Mehralizade.

All the journalists deny the charges and claim their arrests are politically motivated, linked to their investigations into corruption.

Local and international human rights groups have condemned the case as politically driven and are calling for the journalists’ immediate release and for the charges to be dropped.