On June 10, defense attorneys delivered their closing arguments in the trial of jailed journalists from Abzas Media, an independent news outlet in Azerbaijan.

The lawyers unanimously rejected the charges as baseless and politically motivated, emphasizing that the case lacks credible legal grounds.

The independent media outlet Abzas Media was the first target of the ongoing media crackdown in Azerbaijan that began in November 2023, when six of its staff members were arrested.

Abzas Media was the first media organization targeted in a sweeping crackdown on independent journalism that began in Azerbaijan in November 2023. Since then, six of its staff members have been detained: Director Ulvi Hasanli, Deputy Director Mahammad Kekalov, Editor-in-Chief Sevinc Vagifqizi, reporters Nargiz Absalamova and Elnara Gasimova, and investigative journalist Hafiz Babali. All have been held in custody for more than 15 months.

An economist and journalist for RFE/RL's Azerbaijani Service Farid Mehralizade is also being tried in connection with the same case.

The journalists are accused of operating as an “organized group” and face multiple charges: smuggling, illegal entrepreneurship, laundering large sums of money obtained by criminal means, tax evasion, document forgery, and use of false documents.

During the hearing, defense lawyers argued that while the case was formally opened under smuggling charges, none of the accused were found with illegal property when crossing the border, nor was any such evidence discovered in their homes or belongings.

Ulvi Hasanli’s lawyer, Zibeyda Sadigova, stated that the case is entirely fabricated and aims to punish the defendants for their investigative work.

“Abzas Media is being punished for reporting on the president, his family, and high-ranking officials,” she said.

“Police placed €40,000 in the outlet’s office to create a fake legal basis for launching this case. When we requested a fingerprint examination on the cash, the request was rejected without legal justification, most likely because the money belonged to the police.”

Sevinc Vagifqizi’s lawyer, Elchin Sadigov, also dismissed the charge of money laundering as baseless.

“As shown in the case files, the grant amounts were not obtained illegally under the laws of the countries they came from, nor are they considered criminal in Azerbaijan either. Even if the grant was not officially registered, it only leads to administrative, not criminal, responsibility.”

Bahruz Bayramov, the lawyer representing journalist Elnara Gasimova, described the case as “absurd” and riddled with copy-pasted content.

“As an example,” he said, “in a separate case—the Toplum TV case—the arrest warrant for Ruslan Izzetli claimed he was detained as part of the Abzas Media case. The Appeals Court repeated the same language, stating that Izzetli had been arrested in November 2023 alongside Hasanli, Vagifqizi, and others, even though his actual arrest took place on March 8, 2024.”

Gunay Ismayilova, another lawyer representing Elnara Gasimova, emphasized that the charges lack any legal basis.

Rovshana Rahimli, who is defending journalist Nargiz Absalamova, stated that if the court acts fairly and independently, her client—as well as the other defendants—should be acquitted.

“The charges are baseless. First, from a legal standpoint, there is no actual criminal act. Second, none of the accusations have been proven during the trial.”

Rasul Jafarov, representing investigative journalist Hafiz Babali, criticized the indictment as overly complex and poorly written.

“The prosecution wrote a single sentence spread across nine pages, full of syntax errors. This made the charges abstract, confusing, and vague, almost as if they were trying to hide the lack of real evidence behind complicated language.”

Defense lawyers also challenged the claim that the journalists engaged in illegal business or money laundering for personal gain.

Lawyer Cavad Cavadov, defending RFE/RL's Azerbaijani Service journalist Farid Mehralizade, said, “What’s being violated in this courtroom is not just the law, it’s logic itself.”

“I’m speaking not only as a lawyer,” said one of the defense attorneys, “but as someone standing up for freedom of expression, independent thought, and the rule of law in this country. Because it’s not just Farid Mehralizade who is on trial—it’s freedom of speech and civic courage itself.”

All lawyers requested acquittal for their clients.

At the end of his statement, Elnara Gasimova’s lawyer Bahruz Bayramov addressed the judges directly:

“It’s clear that you won’t be making an independent decision here. I am convinced of that. You are not the ones deciding this case, you are simply carrying out orders from above.”

The next hearing in the “Abzas Media case” is scheduled for June 20, when the journalists are expected to make their final statements.

If convicted, they face prison sentences of 8 to 12 years.

The journalists have denied all charges, describing them as retaliation for their investigative reporting on corruption.

Both local and international human rights organizations have condemned the arrests as politically motivated and called for the journalists’ immediate release and for the charges to be dropped.