The case of imprisoned journalist and economist of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, Farid Mahralizada, was raised by U.S. Vice President J.D. Vance during his meeting with President Ilham Aliyev in Baku in February of this year.
This was reported by Steve Capus, the president of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, in a post on the social network “X.”
Capus wrote that Mehralizada’s arrest and the sentence handed down to him are unfounded. He called on the Azerbaijani authorities to reconsider the decision.
“Our colleague should not have been charged charged, let alone convicted. Locked away for nearly 2 years, unable to spend the day of his daughter’s birth or any day since with her. Farid’s case was raised by by U.S. Vice President J.D. Vance in Baku. The leadership of Azerbaijan has the power to humanely correct this injustice,” Steve Capus wrote in his post.
U.S. Vice President J.D. Vance made an official visit to Azerbaijan on February 10. He held first a limited meeting, then a broader one with President Ilham Aliyev.
At the end of the visit, the parties signed the “Charter on Strategic Partnership between the Government of the Republic of Azerbaijan and the Government of the United States of America.”
Official statements did not provide information on whether issues related to human rights, political prisoners, or the arrest of journalists were discussed during the meetings.
Farid Mehralizada was arrested in May 2024 as part of the “AbzasMedia case.”
Prior to him, AbzasMedia’s director Ulvi Hasanli, editor-in-chief Sevinj Vagifgizi, project coordinator Mahammad Kekalov, investigative journalist Hafiz Babali, as well as journalists Elnara Gasimova and Nargiz Absalamova had also been detained in connection with the case.
In June 2025, by a decision of the Baku Court of Grave Crimes, the organization’s director Ulvi Hasanli, editor-in-chief Sevinj Vagifgizi, investigative journalist Hafiz Babali, and economist Farid Mehralizada were sentenced to 9 years in prison; reporters Nargiz Absalamova and Elnara Gasimova were sentenced to 8 years, and deputy director Mahammad Kekalov to 7 years and 6 months.
They were found guilty of smuggling and other crimes.
The journalists deny the charges, stating that their arrests are politically motivated due to their investigations into corruption.
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