European Press Prize Honors Top Stories, Including ‘The Baku Connection’
The European Press Prize 2025 recognized journalists across Europe for outstanding work. OCCRP and partners were honored for continuing investigations in Azerbaijan despite arrests.
Banner: European Press Prize
A panel of judges has selected the winners of the 2025 European Press Prize, honoring the best in European journalism during yet another challenging year for independent media.
Among the six winning projects, the Special Award was presented to The Baku Connection Project, a cross-border investigation coordinated by Forbidden Stories in collaboration with OCCRP and 15 other media partners.
The project continued the work of Azerbaijani outlet Abzas Media after several of its journalists—Ulvi Hasanli, Sevinc Vaqifqizi, and Mahammad Kelakov—were arrested in late 2023.
Despite their detention, journalists across Europe and beyond came together to carry on the investigation into corruption, human rights violations, and environmental damage linked to the regime of Ilham Aliyev.
“This award recognizes pure collaboration and solidarity in the profession,” the judges noted.
The recognition comes at a time of growing pressure on independent journalism in Azerbaijan. The latest example is journalist Ulvia Ali (Guliyeva), who was violently detained in early May in Baku as part of the so-called Meydan TV case. Police raided her home, and a district court subsequently ordered one month and 29 days of pre-trial detention.
The prize ceremony took place on May 28 in Bari, Italy. Each main award includes a €10,000 prize to support future journalistic work.
