New York, July 28, 2026 – The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns
the extremely harsh prison sentences
of up to 15 years handed down on July 27 to journalists and other individuals associated with leading Azerbaijani news outlet Toplum TV on charges related to receipt and use of foreign funds.
“The shockingly heavy sentences meted out to nine individuals linked to Toplum TV are a textbook example of how an absence of international accountability emboldens autocrats like Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev,” said Fiona O’Brien, CPJ’s Europe and Central Asia regional director. “More than two dozen journalists and media workers are now unjustly jailed in Azerbaijan, victims of a relentless crackdown on independent journalism. European states in particular must wake up to the fact that their increasingly warm ties with Aliyev’s regime – and their failure to hold it to international human rights standards – not only have devastating consequences inside Azerbaijan but also undermine their claims to stand for media freedom.”
The Serious Crimes Court in the capital, Baku, found the nine individuals — who include journalists, a journalist trainer, project managers, and the founders of media outlets — guilty of acting as an “organized criminal group” to commit
multiple financial crimes
connected to the receipt and use of Western donor funds, in violation of Azerbaijani legislation, by four connected organizations: Toplum TV; the nonprofit Institute for Democratic Initiatives (IDI); Fakt Yoxla, a fact-checking platform run by IDI; and Third Republic Platform, a political group.
The court delivered the following sentences, and ordered Toplum TV journalist Elmir Abbasov, who was the only defendant to remain free pending trial, to be taken into custody in the courtroom:
Akif Gurbanov, Toplum TV co-founder, IDI chairperson, and Third Republic Platform spokesperson – 15 years
Alasgar Mammadli, Toplum TV co-founder and media lawyer – 14 years
Mushfig Jabbar,
… [more]
