The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) has expressed concern over death threats made against Farid Ismayilov, a detained employee of Toplum TV.
The arrests related to the “Toplum TV case” began in March 2024.
Journalist Farid Ismayilov was among the many journalists detained during a police raid on Toplum TV’s office on March 6, 2024, but he was released two days later. However, he was arrested again on January 17, 2025.
A total of 10 people have been charged in this case.
They were initially accused of smuggling, but the charges were later escalated.
This was reported on the X page of CPJ’s Europe and Asia division.
In its statement, the Committee to Protect Journalists called on the Azerbaijani government to ensure Farid Ismayilov’s safety and to release more than 25 journalists who have been “unjustly imprisoned,” including him.
During a hearing at the Baku Serious Crimes Court on September 29, Farid Ismayilov stated that an inmate in a neighboring cell at the Baku Pretrial Detention Center had threatened to kill him.
His relatives confirmed this to Meydan TV, stating that Farid is being threatened by another inmate:
“Farid says the inmate in the cell next to his threatened to kill him. On September 23, when prison staff were escorting Farid to the medical unit, another inmate threw a cup at him. The staff stepped in front of him and prevented it from hitting him. Although Farid repeatedly asked for the incident to be recorded, no official report was made. He later met with his lawyer and requested that the inmate who threw the cup be transferred to another room. But no action was taken,” said his relatives.
They also reported that a similar incident happened the next day. This time, an inmate attempted to throw hot water at him. The incident was prevented by guards, but no permanent solution has been put in place.
On September 25, the same inmate became even more aggressive after failing to harm Farid and self-harmed using a sharp object. During the incident, he verbally abused Farid and threatened to harm him again.
In court, Farid Ismayilov said that as long as the issue remains unresolved, he believes these threats are intentional and orchestrated provocations.
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