The International Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) has expressed strong disapproval of the prison terms requested by the prosecutor for nine activists and journalists from Toplum TV, which range from 13 to 16 years. Gulnoza Said, CPJ program coordinator, emphasized that such harsh punishments demonstrate the Azerbaijani authorities' desire to respond to courageous reporting and sow a climate of fear.

The defendants, including Alesker Mammadli, one of the publication's founders, Akif Gurbanov, head of IDI, and politician Ruslan Izzetli, initially faced charges of currency smuggling, which were later upgraded. The defendants are accused of illegal entrepreneurship, money laundering by an organized group, and tax evasion.

All deny their guilt, claiming the case is politically motivated. CPJ, for its part, insists on the immediate drop of criminal prosecution and the release of more than twenty media representatives arrested in the country.

The state prosecution recently concluded its case at the Baku Court of Grave Crimes. The prosecutor requested 16-year sentences for Akif Gurbanov and Ruslan Izzetli, 15 years for Alesker Mammadli and Ali Zeynalov, and 14 years for Mushfig Jabbar, Ilkin Amrakhov, and Ramil Babayev. The prosecutor proposed 13-year sentences for Farid Ismayilov and Elmir Abbasov.