London, October 22, 2026—Azerbaijan should drop its financial crimes case against two journalists and another staff member of Meclis.info, an independent media outlet covering the work of the country’s parliament, and stop using allegations of illegal funding from international donors to silence the independent press, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Thursday.
On October 20, prosecutors in the capital Baku
requested
prison
sentences
of 12 years for
Imran Aliyev
, the founder of
Meclis.info
who has been jailed since 2024, and 11 years for the outlet’s data analyst Elgiz Gahraman on multiple economic crime charges linked to alleged violations of foreign funding laws. A third defendant, Meclis.info accountant Tamella Musayeva, was reportedly taken ill in the courtroom before prosecutors could request a sentence for her and the hearing was adjourned.
Journalist Imran Aliyev reports on his April 18, 2024 arrest at Azerbaijan’s Baku International Airport. (Screenshot: CPJ/Abzas Media via Facebook)
A verdict in the case is expected on November 3.
“Azerbaijan’s authorities are using foreign funding laws to persecute news outlets in an unprecedented crackdown that has seen at least
25 journalists
jailed for simply doing their jobs. The unjustifiable sentences requested for Imran Aliyev and Elgiz Gahraman of Meclis.info are yet another example of this,” said Fiona O’Brien, CPJ’s director for Europe and Central Asia. “European Court of Human Rights rulings against Azerbaijan have clearly stated that these types of charges are illegitimate and retaliatory. Azerbaijan must immediately release Aliyev and drop all charges against him and his colleagues.”
Meclis.info is among four leading independent media outlets targeted over alleged unlawful receipt of funding from major Western donor organizations, amid a
crackdown
on Azerbaijani civil society and a decline in relations with the West.
In July this year, authorities sentenced nine individuals lin
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