21:17, 11 April 2025

Rights defenders launch fundraising for Azeri arrested journalists

Screenshot of a banner on the “GoFundMe” Platform https://www.gofundme.com/f/freedom-for-azerbaijani-journalists?attribution_id=sl:e20306fc-12ee-4de7-84ab-5373228518f1&lang=en_US&utm_campaign=fp_sharesheet&utm_medium=customer&utm_source=copy_link

A charity campaign to raise funds in support of 38 Azerbaijani journalists, media workers and activists arrested for criticizing the government is timed to coincide with the World Press Freedom Day. The funds raised will be equally distributed among all those arrested.

Azerbaijan is among the leaders in Europe in terms of the number of imprisoned journalists: by the end of 2024, there were 30 of them according to the Council of Europe Platform for the Protection of Journalism and Journalists’ Safety.

The campaign under the motto "Freedom for Azeri Journalists" was launched on the “GoFundMe” Platform. It was initiated by Emin Guseinov, an exiled human rights defender, the head of the Geneva-based Institute of Human Rights and a co-founder of the Institute for Reporters' Freedom and Safety (IRFS).

In his opinion, this is "the worst persecution of the press that the country has ever seen." "Journalists and media professionals are exposed to threats and imprisonment. Some face terrible conditions in jails, staying without food or medical care there. Their families are also suffering – they find it difficult to pay advocates and cover their daily expenses," Emin Guseinov has emphasized.

The campaign will end on May 3 – the World Press Freedom Day. The target amount for fundraising is USD 46,000.

The platform has posted the names of all the 38 arrested persons, including seven defendants in the “Abzas Media” case; eight defendants in the “Toplum TV” case; ten employees of the “Meydan TV”; as well as Igbal Abilov. the head of the virtual "Talysh National Academy"; Bakhruz Samedov, a young researcher, author of the OC-Media; the journalists, Aziz Orudjov, Polad Aslanov, Teimur Kerimov, Afgan Sadygov, and others.

This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on April 10, 2025 at 11:51 pm MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.

Author: Faik Medjid

Source: СK correspondent