Prosecution Seeks 12 Years For Azerbaijani Journalist Mehralizada, Who Denies ‘Politically Motivated’ Charges

By RFE/RL’s Azerbaijani Service

Prosecutors in Azerbaijan on May 20 asked a court to sentence journalist Farid Mehralizada to 12 years on smuggling charges that he says are politically motivated and tied directly to his critical reporting for RFE/RL’s Azerbaijani Service, known locally as Azadliq Radiosu.

Mehralizada is one of seven journalists on trial for what they say are trumped up charges. Prosecutors also asked for 12-year sentences for Ulvi Hasanli, the director of the AbzasMedia independent news agency, and journalist Hafiz Babali.

The prosecution asked for 11-year sentences for four others in the case — Sevinj Vagifqizi, Mahammad Kekalov, Nargiz Absalamova, and Elnara Gasimova.

The next hearing in the case is scheduled for June 10.

Mehralizada, 30, has described being blindfolded during his arrest in May 2024 and then taken to an unknown location before ending up at the Baku City Police Department, where he said he faced physical and psychological pressure to unlock his phone.

“One of the policemen told me, ‘You’re a young man. Do you really need Azadliq Radiosu? Just keep your head down and live your life,'” he testified at an earlier court session. “This shows that my arrest was indeed connected to my articles for Azadliq Radiosu.”

Additional charges, including illegal entrepreneurship, tax evasion, gang smuggling, and document forgery, have since been added to his case — accusations he and his supporters call fabricated.

He said prosecutors falsely claimed he held a role with the independent Abzas Media news agency, which has come under pressure from the authorities.