Azerbaijanian picture-taker Ahmad Mukhtar taken into custody due to accusations in Meydan TV matter
In a continuation of a crackdown on independent media, the final charges against imprisoned journalists from Meydan TV have been announced. The journalists have been charged under a total of eight criminal articles, including illegal entrepreneurship, tax evasion, and forgery.
The case against Meydan TV began on 6 December 2024 with the arrest of journalist Ramin Jabrayilzada. Since then, at least six Meydan TV journalists were arrested on charges of smuggling foreign currency, a charge that has been repeatedly employed against independent journalists or critics of Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev's government.
Ahmad Mukhtar, a photojournalist for Meydan TV, was among those arrested. Mukhtar was remanded to 40 days in pre-trial detention on Wednesday. The Baku City Main Police Department has announced the completion of their investigation into the Meydan TV case.
Mukhtar will receive a state-appointed lawyer as his defense counsel, according to Meydan TV's report. The case will be sent to the Baku Grave Crimes Court.
Orkhan Mammad, editor of Meydan TV, shared a Facebook post stating that at least 13 people had been detained in connection with the case. Besides the six Meydan TV journalists, several other individuals were also detained.
In May, journalist Ulviyya Ali was arrested, and in February 2025, Shamshad Aghayev, editor-in-chief of the Argument media outlet, as well as journalists Fatima Movlamli and Nurlan Gahramanli, were arrested in connection with this case. Farid Mehralizada, a journalist at RFE/RL, was also sentenced to nine years in prison after being detained in June 2024.
The detained journalists from Meydan TV issued a joint statement from prison, accusing the authorities of preparing a 'new fraud'. The search results do not provide information about the judge leading the court proceedings against the arrested journalists of Meydan TV.
This latest development in the Meydan TV case follows the sentencing of Abzas Media's director, editor-in-chief, investigative journalist, and several other journalists to prison terms on charges of smuggling foreign currency as a group and money laundering in June 2024. The campaign against independent media in Azerbaijan continues to raise concerns about freedom of the press and the rule of law in the country.
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