The imprisoned director of AbzasMedia, Ulvi Hasanli, has been included in the list of nominees for the Václav Havel Human Rights Prize.
At a meeting held in Prague on August 26 under the chairmanship of Theodoros Rousopoulos, President of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE), the shortlist included Georgian journalist and co-founder of independent publications Batumelebi and Netgazeti, Mzia Amaghlobeli, and Ukrainian journalist Maksym Butkevych.
This prize is awarded for outstanding civil society activity in the defense of human rights in Europe and beyond.
According to PACE, Ulvi Hasanli has been the director of AbzasMedia since 2016. Since as early as 2011, he has been subjected to government persecution – including arbitrary arrests, torture, and politically motivated charges:
“In June 2025, Hasanli was sentenced to nine years in prison and is currently detained under harsh conditions in a remote prison, where he has endured hunger strikes and solitary confinement while continuing to embody resilience and commitment to press freedom.”
The winner of the prize will be announced on September 29 during the opening of PACE’s autumn session in Strasbourg.
The Václav Havel Human Rights Prize has been awarded annually since 2013. In 2014, Azerbaijani human rights defender Anar Mammadli, who is currently imprisoned, received the award.
Ulvi Hasanli was arrested in November 2023 in connection with the “Abzas Media case.” Alongside him, AbzasMedia’s editor-in-chief Sevinj Vagifgizi, reporters Nargiz Absalamova and Elnara Gasimova, deputy director Mahammad Kekalov, investigative journalist Hafiz Babali, and Radio Azadliq journalist and economist Farid Mehralizade were also detained.
On June 20, 2025, the Baku Serious Crimes Court sentenced Ulvi Hasanli, Sevinj Vagifgizi, Hafiz Babali, and Farid Mehralizade to 9 years in prison. Reporters Nargiz Absalamova and Elnara Gasimova received 8-year sentences, while deputy director Mahammad Kekalov was sentenced to 7 years and 6 months.
They were convicted of smuggling and other crimes. The journalists reject the charges and claim their arrests are politically motivated, due to their investigations into corruption.
According to the most recent list by the “The union for the Freedom of Political Prisoners of Azerbaijan,” there are currently 375 political prisoners in the country.
The Azerbaijani government unequivocally denies the existence of political prisoners, asserting that no one is persecuted for their views or political stance, and that all detainees are imprisoned for specific criminal acts.
The post Imprisoned director of AbzasMedia nominated for Václav Havel Human Rights Prize appeared first on MEYDAN.TV.
