RSF demands that Azerbaijan release free press representatives and protect environmental journalism
Ahead of the opening of the 29th UN Climate Change Conference in the Azerbaijani capital Baku, Reporters Without Borders (RSF) called on the international community to put pressure on Azerbaijan to release imprisoned journalists and put an end to gross violations of their rights.
In Azerbaijan, a resource-dependent state that receives more than 90% of its income from hydrocarbon exports, representatives of the environmental press are under pressure and in danger. Thus, over the past year, about 15 journalists have been arrested for their professional activities, including Nargiz Absalamova, an employee of the independent publication Abzas Media, who has been in pre-trial detention since November 30, 2023. She was engaged in covering environmental problems in the country, in particular the catastrophic consequences of hydrocarbon extraction and mining products. The journalist was detained on trumped-up charges of “foreign currency smuggling,” which carries a prison sentence of up to 12 years.
Reporters Without Borders notes that Nargiz Absalyamova, four of her colleagues from Abzas Media, and eight other independent media representatives, including Toplum TV, are currently “subjected to cruel treatment and inhumane conditions in prison, as Abzas Media editor-in-chief Sevinj Vagifgizi, who is also in custody, regularly testifies to.
“Being an example of protecting journalism, especially environmental journalism, should be a prerequisite for hosting the UN climate conference. How can we agree that a gas and oil producing country that imprisons its independent journalists is hosting negotiations that will determine the future of the Earth’s climate? "RSF calls on the international community to demand that the Azerbaijani authorities release the imprisoned journalists, put an end to the egregious violations of press freedom and finally commit to protecting independent journalism," said Jeanne Cavelier, head of RSF's Eastern Europe and Central Asia desk.
