Media Defence Files ECtHR Case Against Azerbaijan’s Unlawful Detention of Journalist Imran Aliyev Ahead of COP29

Media Defence has filed a case at the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) against Azerbaijan on behalf of journalist Imran Aliyev, challenging his unlawful detention. As Azerbaijan prepares to host COP29, Aliyev’s case underscores the systematic repression of dissenting voices in the country, casting a dark shadow over the upcoming climate summit.

Imran Aliyev, one of the few remaining independent journalists in Azerbaijan, has been detained since April 2024.

Before his arrest Aliyev managed meclis.info, a popular news site focused on political issues in Azerbaijan, aiming to increase public participation in politics and expose instances of government corruption.

The day before his arrest, a pro-government website published a statement accusing Aliyev of being part of a smuggling network supposedly involving several journalists. Most of the accused journalists worked for the investigative outlet Abzas Media, six of whom remain imprisoned awaiting trial and who face up to 12 years in prison if convicted.

In the early hours of 19 April 2024, Aliyev was arrested at Heydar Aliyev International Airport while waiting to board a flight to Istanbul. Without warning or explanation, border officers detained him violently and forcibly seized his phone.

Officers then took him to his home with a black bag over his head. They attempted to break down the door, eventually entering and searching the house without presenting a warrant, seizing documents and a computer. Aliyev and his father were taken to the Baku City Police Department, where authorities confiscated Aliyev’s electronic devices, as well as his father’s phone.

While his father was released later that morning, Aliyev was subjected to aggressive interrogation, physical assault, and electrocution by police officers. He was ultimately forced to sign a document confessing to the charges.

A hearing at Baku’s Khatai District Court took place the same day. Despite a complete absence of evidence, the court authorised Aliyev’s detention for an initial two months on the basis he might interfere with the authorities’ purported investigation or flee.

Aliyev’s appeal against the court’s decision to detain him was dismissed, with the Court of Appeal upholding the lower court’s decision despite his lawyers’ submission that the detention was baseless, given the absence of evidence. Aliyev’s detention has been extended twice by court order, and he remains in gaol.

In the case filed to the ECtHR, Media Defence argues that Aliyev’s arrest and detention violate his rights to liberty and freedom of expression. The case argues that Aliyev was detained solely to silence him and other journalists, in line with Azerbaijan’s pattern of using fabricated charges to repress dissenting voices and restrict independent media.

Aliyev is no stranger to state-led reprisals for his reporting – having previously faced detention, torture, as well as a travel ban, and as argued in the ECtHR case, his situation is far from unusual.

Azerbaijan is one of the most restrictive environments for freedom of expression in the world. There is no independent press, and most media outlets are either state-controlled or strongly influenced by the government. Targeting of journalists and human rights defenders by state and private actors is common and meaningful steps to prevent or investigate such attacks are rarely taken, leading to a climate of impunity.

Independent news websites, including Abzas Media, Kanal 13 and Toplum TV have been blocked and their owners and employees arrested on baseless charges including smuggling, hooliganism and building a house without a permit. The state has also targeted many journalists with the highly invasive spyware, Pegasus.

In December 2021 the Government also enacted the Law on Media, which among other restrictions, requires journalists and media entities to register with Azeri authorities. In 2023, Media Defence intervened in a case brought by Media Rights Group appealing the authority’s refusal to register various outlets.

Media Defence has provided extensive support to journalists in Azerbaijan. We have filed multiple cases at the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) challenging Azerbaijan’s use of Pegasus spyware against journalists, including Abzas Media’s chief editor Sevinc Vaqifqizi, and executive director Ulvi Hasanli. We have also filed multiple ECtHR cases contesting the detention and mistreatment of journalists covering protests, including Elnara Gasimova, Fatima Movlamova and Ramin Jabrailzade.

COP29, the world’s largest annual environmental conference will be held in Baku from November 11–22, but as it approaches, there has once again been a notable escalation in the targeting of activists, politicians, and academics.

If you are a journalist facing legal threats for your work, apply for help here.