Azerbaijan begins trial of nine independent media employees as crackdown widens

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BAKU (Reuters) – A court in Azerbaijan began the trial of nine employees of the independent Toplum TV station on Thursday, the latest in a series of prosecutions targeting independent media in the South Caucasus country.

The defendants, three of whom worked as journalists at the station, are charged with offences related to smuggling and money laundering, charges which have been levelled against other media figures in the country who have been convicted.

The court ordered them to remain in detention during the trial, with the next hearing due on May 5.

In court, defendant Akif Gurbanov said the charges were baseless and politically motivated, according to a Reuters reporter present.

“The case opened against us is fabricated and is political in nature,” he said.

Media rights group Reporters Without Borders ranked Azerbaijan 164 out of 180 countries for press freedom in its 2024 rankings.

Several other cases are under way, including against six employees of Meydan TV, another independent broadcaster.

Azerbaijan, an oil-producing country of 10 million, has been governed by President Ilham Aliyev since 2003, when he took over from his father, Heydar.

In 2023, Aliyev retook the breakaway region of Nagorno-Karabakh from longtime rival Armenia, prompting a surge in his standing at home.

(Reporting by Nailia Bagirova, Writing by Felix Light; Editing by William Maclean)