The trial in the “Meydan TV case” resumed on July 3. The case is being heard at the Baku Court for Grave Crimes by a judicial panel headed by Zaur Hajiyev, alongside judges Azar Taghiyev and Roman Alakbarli.
After Judge Aytan Aliyeva, who had presided over the “Meydan TV case” for nearly six months, was appointed to the Baku Court of Appeal on May 26, the case was reassigned to a different panel of judges.
At the court hearing held on July 3, Judge Zaur Hajiyev introduced the new composition of the court to the journalists. It also emerged that, in addition to the judges, the prosecutor had been replaced. From now on, the prosecution in the “Meydan TV case” will be conducted by Vusal Abdullayev.
Among the journalists, Aytaj Tapdig (Ahmadova), a journalist of Meydan TV, said they objected to the appointment of the new prosecutor and wanted the previous one to be reinstated.
The other journalists standing trial also challenged the appointment of Vusal Abdullayev. However, their objections were dismissed.
During the hearing, the court verified the defendants’ personal details. Afterwards, both the journalists and their lawyers submitted their motions to the court.
Shamshad Agha Agayev, editor-in-chief of the Arqument.az news website and one of the journalists detained in connection with the “Meydan TV case,” said that the proceedings had been unlawful from the outset. According to him, no court summons had been sent to them at the pretrial detention center, and they had not been informed that the composition of the court had changed.
“One of the new judges, Azar Taghiyev, has experience with politically motivated cases. In the coming days, he is expected to deliver a verdict in the Toplum TV case against my friends. Roman Alakbarli is also handling the case of Imran Aliyev. Mr. Zaur, you have only recently come from the Baku Military Court, so it seems this is your first political case. They couldn’t even send a simple court notice. This case hasn’t been handled properly from the very beginning. We already know there is no real court here. We’re just wasting our time. We have no expectation of a fair trial. We had requested that Mikayil Jabbarov be summoned and questioned. Instead, they’ve sent some young subordinate here in his place.”
At the hearing, Leyla Huseynova, an employee of the State Tax Service of Azerbaijan, participated as the representative of the civil claimant.
Ramin Deko Jabrayilzada, a journalist of Meydan TV, said that when he returned from Tbilisi on December 6, 2024, he was carrying €8,000. However, when he was detained that day, the authorities officially recorded the amount as €38,000. For that reason, he had asked the previous panel of judges to obtain the airport’s surveillance footage from that day and examine it during the trial. The judges granted the motion.
“When I arrived, I had €8,000 on me. Whether it somehow multiplied or someone added to it, whatever happened, it later turned into €38,000. We filed a motion to have this matter investigated, and the court granted it. Three months have passed since then. If the surveillance footage had been making its way here all this time, it would have reached the court by now. Either obtain the footage yourselves, or release me so I can go and get it myself. I’ve been kept here for three months waiting.”
The defense lawyers then filed motions requesting that the journalists they represent be released to house arrest pending the court’s verdict.
Defense lawyer Zibeyda Sadigova said that one of her clients, Meydan TV editor-in-chief Aynur Elgunesh (Ganbarova), has serious health problems. She has undergone 17 surgeries to date. The lawyer also noted that another client, Shamshad Agha (Aghayev), has lost more than three close relatives, including his mother, sister, and niece, during the year and a half he has been in detention. She emphasized that her client Natig Javadli is an experienced journalist and the father of three children. Referring to another client, Fatima Movlamli, she reminded the court that she is a young journalist who was arrested because of her journalistic work.
“The people I represent were initially charged with smuggling, and their pretrial detention was ordered on the basis of that charge. By the end of the investigation, however, they were facing a whole array of additional charges. In practice, we have seen our courts place defendants accused of smuggling kilograms of gold or cigarettes worth 5.5 million (manats) under house arrest. For example, the courts granted house arrest to Ruslan Eyyubov. We would like the court to apply this positive judicial practice in this case as well,” said Zibeyda Sadigova.
Defense lawyer Javad Javadov requested that his clients, Nurlan Libre (Gahramanli) and Aytaj Tapdig (Ahmadova), be released to house arrest pending trial.
Another defense lawyer, Bakhtiyar Hajiyev, filed the same motion seeking house arrest for his client, Ulvi Tahirov, the deputy director of the Baku School of Journalism. The lawyer also requested that Ulvi Tahirov’s case be severed from the “Meydan TV case.”
Defense lawyer Rashad Aliyev filed a motion requesting that his client, Ahmad Mukhtar, be released to house arrest. He told the court that his client is a well-known photojournalist, has a young child in his care, and that both his father and his wife are suffering from cancer.
Defense lawyer Nazim Musayev also argued that there were neither substantive nor procedural grounds for keeping journalist Khayala Aghayeva in pretrial detention.
Prosecutor Vusal Abdullayev opposed the requests to release the detained journalists to house arrest. He argued that the grounds on which the pretrial detention measure had originally been imposed remained unchanged.
After deliberating, the panel of judges denied the motions seeking to release the defendants to house arrest.
The court also denied the motion to sever Ulvi Tahirov’s case from the “Meydan TV case.”
Defense lawyer Rovshana Rahimli filed a motion concerning the health of her client, Ulviyya Ali Guliyeva. The lawyer told the court that neither the Baku Pretrial Detention Center nor the medical facility operated by the Penitentiary Service of Azerbaijan has CT or MRI scanners. For that reason, the defense had previously asked the former panel of judges to allow Ulviyya Ali Guliyeva to undergo a medical examination at a private healthcare facility. The court had ruled that the matter should first be referred to the Medical Department of the Ministry of Justice of Azerbaijan for review.
Judge Zaur Hajiyev responded that the previous panel of the court had sent a letter regarding this matter in February. He added that, if necessary, the court could issue a letter stating that it does not object to the request.
Aytaj Tapdig Ahmadova suggested that a video be prepared to familiarize the new court panel with the activities of Meydan TV, and that it be shown during the hearing.
Defense lawyer Zibeyda Sadigova filed a motion regarding the resolution of an issue related to granting power of attorney to the family members of journalist Natig Javadli:
“A power of attorney must be issued for journalist Natig Javadli’s minor daughter so that she can obtain a passport and leave the country. The previous panel of the court had granted this motion. However, because the names were written incorrectly, the notary refused to carry out the procedure. We ask that this issue be resolved.”
Another motion raised by the defense lawyer concerned the lack of facilities at the Baku Court for Grave Crimes for persons with disabilities to meet their basic needs. The lawyer stated that disabled detainees face difficulties using restroom facilities while being held in the court building and struggle to meet their basic needs. “There are portable toilets available. Either the court should provide them, or the detainees’ relatives can bring them. In any case, this issue must be resolved,” the defense lawyer said.
The judge said that they would work to resolve this issue before the next court hearing.
Defense lawyer Javad Javadov said that although they sent a letter to the Medical Main Department on June 19 regarding the health problems of Aytaj Tapdig Ahmadova, they have not received any response.
It was then announced that the court investigation had begun. A decision was made to consider the indictment as having been formally presented. Journalists who had already given testimony before the previous panel, Aynur Elgunesh Ganbarova, Natig Javadli, and Ulvi Tahirov, requested that their earlier statements be accepted. Only Ramin Deko Jabrayilzada said he would supplement his testimony at the next hearing.
During the course of the trial, prosecutor Vusal Abdullayev intervened in the defendants’ statements, which led to a controversy in the courtroom.
When Fatima Movlamli addressed prosecutor Vusal Abdullayev as “Vusal bey” (“Mr. Vusal”), he reacted by saying: “Not ‘bey’, ‘Mr. Prosecutor’.”
Fatima Movlamli replied: “You are defaming us here; even calling you ‘bey’ is too much for you.”
After that, Shamshad Agha Agayev objected to the prosecutor’s behavior:
“You have violated all the requirements of the law and all mandatory legal norms, and yet you are still speaking. Look at the indictment approved by the Prosecutor General’s Office you represent and see how many errors it contains. You should be the ones ashamed here, yet you are still talking”.
Later, photojournalist Ahmad Mukhtar gave testimony. He stated that he had no connection or cooperation with Meydan TV. He said he had only been friends with its editor-in-chief, Aynur Elgunesh, since 2008. He added that in October 2024, when he returned from Georgia, he brought €7,000 on her request.
“I have been working as a professional photographer since 2009. In Tbilisi, there is a man named Igor who is a professional camera repair specialist. We were going to work at COP. Famil and I went to see him. Aynur had asked me to bring her fee when I returned. When I came back on October 11, I had €3,500 on me and Famil had €3,500. I was detained on December 6, 2024, and questioned about this matter. Later, I was given 20 days of administrative detention for allegedly resisting the police. I remained free until August 2025. I was going about my work and daily life.”
Ahmad Mukhtar spoke about his professional activity, stating that he has worked as a photographer with various organizations and has paid taxes. According to him, he was awarded the title of “Photographer of the Year” in 2020. He added that photographs he took during the 44-day war were published in international media.
He also worked as a trainer in the field of photojournalism. He participated as a photographer in trips to Karabakh organized by the Presidential Administration. He also worked for some time as a lecturer at the State University of Languages. “I have been an independent photographer and have collaborated with 8–10 organizations on a contractual basis. I was simply given a room at the Baku School of Journalism, where I would sit and do my work.”
The court proceedings in the “Meydan TV case” will continue on July 24 with the testimonies of other journalists.
On December 6, 2024, staff members of Meydan TV—Ramin Deko (Jabrayilzada), Aynur Elgunesh (Ganbarova), Aysel Umudova, Aytaj Tapdig (Ahmadova), Khayala Aghayeva, Natig Javadli, and civil society member Ulvi Tahirov were arrested.
Those detained in the case were charged under Article 206.3.2 of the Criminal Code (smuggling committed by a group of persons acting in prior collusion).
On February 5, 2025, the editor-in-chief of the website Arqument.az, journalist Shamshad Agha (Aghayev), who also cooperated with Meydan TV, was arrested. Later, other journalists were also detained: Nurlan Libre (Gahramanli) on February 20, Fatima Movlamli on February 28, Ulviyya Ali (Guliyeva) on May 7, and Ahmad Mukhtar on August 27.
On August 28, the charges in the “Meydan TV case” were aggravated, and the defendants were additionally charged under a total of seven articles of the Criminal Code.
The arrested journalists do not accept the charges and believe they were detained for political reasons, arguing that the aim is to silence independent media and free voices in the country.
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