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Zawya
3 hours ago
- Politics
- Zawya
Sudan: Türk warns of catastrophic surge in violence
UN Human Rights Chief Volker Türk warned today of the disastrous consequences stemming from ongoing and escalating hostilities across the North Darfur and Kordofan regions in Sudan, where civilian casualties, sexual violence, abductions and looting have been reported in multiple areas. 'The recent fighting and grave risk of further aggravation in an already brutal and deadly conflict raise severe protection concerns, amid a pervasive culture of impunity for human rights violations,' the High Commissioner said. On 15 June, after a year-long siege, the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) launched a further attack on El Fasher, following months of increased mobilisation of fighters, including the recruitment of children, across Darfur. The operation, with its ground offensive to capture the city, mirrors the RSF's offensive on the Zamzam camp for internally displaced people (IDPs) in April, which led to hundreds of civilian deaths, widespread sexual violence and a humanitarian catastrophe. In South Kordofan state, civilians also remain trapped by the fighting between the parties vying for control of the strategic town of Al Debibat. Meanwhile, in North Kordofan state, the RSF have reportedly surrounded the city of El Obeid, currently held by the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and allied groups, and may attack it in the coming days, as announced by the RSF commander. 'We know where further escalation will lead,' Türk said. 'For too long already, the world has witnessed the unbound horrors unfolding in Sudan and the untold suffering of its people. Civilians must be protected at all costs. Violations and crimes must be thoroughly investigated and those responsible be held to account,' he added. 'I urge the parties to ensure civilians can safely leave El Fasher, Al Debibat, and El Obeid, as well as other places where civilians may be trapped by the conflict. All parties must refrain from attacking civilian objects, ultimately lay down their weapons and put an end to hostilities,' Türk said. 'I call on all States to exert their influence to press for a durable political solution, and to ensure respect by the parties to the conflict for international humanitarian law. I also urge them to press for an end to the flow of arms into the country, and to restrain the business interests sustaining this conflict.' Distributed by APO Group on behalf of United Nations: Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR).
Mada
4 hours ago
- Politics
- Mada
Sudan Nashra: PM Kamel Idris yet to form govt, pledges nonpartisan cabinet RSF launches major assault on Babanusa, West Kordofan Military airstrikes on Nyala continue
A month after his appointment, Prime Minister Kamel Idris, whose selection drew regional and international support and expression of hope that he could steer Sudan toward a new political phase, has yet to form a government. Now tasked with leading a country worn down by two years of war, Idris is facing serious obstacles. Chief among them are the competing demands of political and armed groups aligned with the military and who believe their share of power is secured under the Juba Peace Agreement. At the same time, Idris is grappling with the difficult task of apportioning political power among Sudan's diverse geographic and social communities. The war has only deepened the role of ethnic and regional identity as a basis for political representation. On top of all this, Idris is trying to govern a country already mired in poverty amid an economic crisis brought on by the ongoing war. On the combat front, the military has stepped up its drone strikes on Nyala — the capital of South Darfur and the main stronghold of the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) — after weeks of sustained attacks, suggesting it may now have gained air dominance over the city. Meanwhile, the RSF continues to gain ground in Kordofan. Its forces mobilized on the outskirts of Babanusa, attacking the last major military-held city in West Kordofan — a region bordering South Sudan and home to the majority of Sudan's oil fields. The RSF's campaign comes as the military's 22nd Division, based in Babanusa, remains cut off from supply lines following the paramilitary group's recent takeover of surrounding cities and towns. On Friday, the RSF launched an attack on Babanusa, which the military was able to repel. The border triangle between Egypt, Sudan and Libya continues to be a hotbed for military action. Earlier this week, the RSF seized the Karb al-Toum area in Northern State. Inside the triangle on the Libyan side, Military units loyal to Libyan National Army (LNA) Commander Khalifa Haftar stepped up their presence, securing further arms shipments to the RSF via the Kufra airport. The RSF is coming under airstrikes, however, in an effort to dislodge them from their newly opened supply route. In North Darfur, the humanitarian situation continues to deteriorate rapidly, particularly in the city of Fasher, which has been under RSF siege for over a year. Hundreds of thousands of residents are living amid acute shortages of food, water, medicine and other basic necessities, as fears grow over a possible cholera outbreak. Thousands of Sudanese people in Fasher and neighboring displacement camps have fled to nearby areas such as Tawila, which has become a central hub for the displaced across the state. But with resources overstretched and infrastructure deteriorating, these destinations are struggling to meet the rising demand for essential services, particularly healthcare, food and shelter. *** A month after his appointment, Prime Minister Kamel Idris has yet to form a government, as political infighting in the administrative capital of Port Sudan continues over power sharing in the upcoming administration. In a speech addressing the Sudanese people on Thursday night, Idris unveiled the broad outlines of what he called the 'government of hope' — a civilian technocratic administration. A former UN official, lawyer and past presidential hopeful, Idris was chosen for his nonpartisan background — unlike Ambassador Dafallah al-Hajj Ali, who had initially been tapped for the post by Transitional Sovereignty Council (TSC) Chair and military Commander-in-Chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan. Concerns over Ali's ties to the former regime and the sweeping powers attached to the premiership ultimately led the TSC to favor Idris instead. Idris said his cabinet would be composed of technocrats with no political party affiliations, describing it as a government that 'represents the voice of the silent majority' with a mandate to deliver prosperity and improved living conditions for the Sudanese people. But according to a former ministerial official who spoke to Mada Masr, Idris faces four major challenges in forming his cabinet. The first is balancing Sudan's complex web of political and social blocs. Idris, according to the source, wants to correct the lack of representation from certain regions in previous governments and insists on appointing ministers based on merit and professionalism — criteria that may rule out several candidates favored by political blocs, the source said. Secondly, Idris aims to fill most cabinet posts with younger figures, a goal that proves difficult, according to the source, given youth underrepresentation across Sudan's political and social structures. The third obstacle concerns Idris's stance toward Islamist factions. While groups such as the former ruling National Congress Party and other Islamist-aligned forces welcomed his appointment, two high-level TSC sources told Mada Masr that Idris has since kept his distance from any Islamist entities — an approach they said reassures the TSC leadership. The final hurdle is the Juba Peace Agreement. Armed movements that signed the 2020 deal are insisting on their full share of cabinet positions as stipulated by the agreement. In his Thursday speech, Idris stressed that he retains the right as prime minister to independently select members of his cabinet using a range of selection methods. Membership in the 'government of hope,' he said, would be open to Sudanese citizens regardless of race or religion, provided they have no party affiliation. A senior source in the Justice and Equality Movement, led by Finance Minister Gibril Ibrahim, told Mada Masr that Idris is bound by the terms of the Juba agreement. The constitutional amendments passed in February did not override the peace deal, the source said, and would not do so until the 39-month transitional period concludes. Idris announced that he would begin forming the government immediately and incrementally, pledging not to betray the public trust and to lay the foundation for a state governed by the rule of law. *** A week after capturing border triangle, RSF advances in Northern State, Haftar-aligned forces expand border deployment Just over a week after the RSF took control of the border triangle between Sudan, Egypt and Libya, the paramilitary group continued its advance into Northern State while military units loyal to Libyan National Army (LNA) Commander Khalifa Haftar stepped up their presence on the Libyan side of the border. On Tuesday, RSF fighters took control of the Karb al-Toum area in Northern State, following the withdrawal of the military toward the Atrun military base, a source from the Sudanese Armed Forces told Mada Masr. Located near the border triangle, Karb al-Toum is considered a key military and commercial gateway in Sudan's northern desert. A former Sudanese military officer told Mada Mar that the RSF's continued advance is backed by newly opened supply routes through Libyan territory. The officer warned that unless the military intervenes with ground and air forces, the group is likely to target the Atrun base and the Khandaq area in the Dongola locality next. The RSF seized the strategic border triangle on June 18, just hours after the military said it had vacated the area. The military accused the Haftar-aligned Subul al-Salam Battalion of aiding the RSF's takeover, which the LNA denied. The Subul al-Salam Battalion, which has controlled the border area since 2011, expanded its military deployment around Jebel Uweinat in the triangle earlier this week, a source close to the battalion told Mada Masr. Backed by the 87th special operations unit — under the LNA's ground forces command led by Saddam Haftar, son of Khalifa Haftar — the battalion launched additional patrols aimed at tracking a group suspected of ties to the Sudanese military-aligned joint force of the armed movement, the source said. The 87th unit dispatched reinforcements to Libya's far southeast on Sunday, deploying around Jebel Uweinat with surveillance aircraft overhead, the source said. The Subul al-Salam forces, meanwhile, remain stationed on the Libyan side of the border triangle as part of a broader plan to prevent infiltration or potential cross-border attacks. According to the source, the Subul al-Salam Battalion received what is believed to be a military shipment delivered earlier this week aboard two Emirati cargo planes. The cargo was heavily secured and transferred to private storage facilities in the nearby city of Kufra. Another military source told Mada Masr that three aircraft were spotted at the Kufra airport on Tuesday, amid what the source described as a significant uptick in logistical movements from Libya into RSF-held areas in Sudan's northern desert. A military source told Mada Masr last week that the border tensions stemmed from the RSF's attempts to establish alternative logistics routes via Libya after Chadian generals pressured President Mahamat Deby to halt the use of the Um Jaras base, which has served as a major RSF supply hub over the past year. Civilians fleeing the border triangle into Dongola, the capital of Northern State, told Mada Masr that RSF positions near the area have come under heavy airstrikes in recent days. A military source said that RSF fighters were hit by three strikes throughout Monday and Tuesday, two of which took place inside Sudanese territory. The strikes were intended to destroy the RSF drone platforms operating in Karb al-Toum, a source from the military's 19th Infantry Division said, warning that the paramilitary's presence in the area poses a direct threat to towns west of the Nile in Northern State. On Thursday morning, the military's air defenses intercepted three RSF drones carrying explosives launched toward the division's base in Merowe, eyewitnesses told Mada Masr. They described hearing loud blasts over the city as all drones were downed. The Sudan's Doctors Network warned on Monday of deteriorating humanitarian conditions among civilians fleeing the border area. The network said nearly 2,000 displaced people have arrived in safer areas of Northern State but lack basic necessities such as shelter, food, clean water and healthcare. After capturing Nuhud and Khawi in West Kordofan in recent weeks, the RSF launched a major attack on the military's largest stronghold in the state, the city of Babanusa, on Friday, following two days of artillery exchanges and military drone strikes targeting RSF positions in the city's outskirts. Throughout Monday and Wednesday, the RSF deployed reinforcements to the north and east of the city in a bid to encircle it from the two directions. They then began shelling the military's 22nd Infantry Division over two consecutive days, a military source in the division's command told Mada Masr. The 22nd Division responded with airstrikes and artillery shelling on Wednesday and Thursday, killing over 60 RSF fighters and destroying 13 of their combat vehicles, according to statements from the military unit. On Friday, the RSF launched a large-scale assault, with heavy fighting breaking out around the 89th Infantry Brigade command near the division's camp, a field source told Mada Masr. The military repelled the initial wave of the attack, but the source warned that Babanusa is likely to face more RSF offensives in the coming days. Located near the South Sudanese border, Babanusa is a strategic city home to the majority of Sudan's oil fields. According to the military source, the terrain surrounding the 22nd Infantry Division camp — characterized by hills and rocky plateaus — presents significant challenges to a full encirclement. Following the RSF's recent takeovers of Nuhud and Khawi in West Kordofan and Dubeibat in South Kordofan, the RSF leadership now believes the military's 22nd Division may struggle to hold out for as long as it did over the past year, RSF military sources in the West Kordofan sector told Mada Masr. According to RSF field commanders who spoke to Mada Masr, new fighters arrived in the city earlier this week with the goal of launching renewed attacks on the military division — after several failed attempts to seize it last year. Witnesses in Babanusa confirmed seeing large-scale reinforcements near the city. Local sources warned that the situation in Babanusa is becoming increasingly precarious, especially as the military appears ill-prepared for a full-scale confrontation, they said. Disruption to supply lines, the city's geographic isolation and the suspension of military air drops have left military forces exposed to what could be a decisive RSF offensive, they said. Babanusa entered the frontlines of the war between the military and the RSF in early January 2024. Operations in the area were initially delayed as local leaders from the Messiria tribe sought to broker an agreement between the two sides to spare the military's camp in the city, given its role in protecting the southern borders against cross-border raids by gangs from South Sudan. However, the initiative ultimately failed after RSF Deputy Commander Abdel Rahim Dagalo insisted on capturing the 22nd Division camp. Renewed clashes between military, SPLM-N in South Kordofan Fighting resumed between the military and the Sudan People's Liberation Movement-North (SPLM-N), led by Abdel Aziz al-Hilu, in South Kordofan on Tuesday in the town of Dashoul, near Korgol, south of the capital, Kadugli. Forces of the SPLM-N, which holds significant territory in South Kordofan, launched an attack on military positions in the area, attempting to cut the main road linking Kadugli and Dalang, a field source told Mada Masr. The military repelled the assault. Military spokesperson Nabil Abdallah confirmed that the 14th Infantry Division in Kadugli pushed back the SPLM-N offensive on the Dashoul outpost, adding that their forces seized weapons, combat vehicles and three tanks during the operation. Fighting between the military and the SPLM-N has escalated in recent weeks along the Um Deheilib and Korgol fronts. In May, the military captured the town of Um Deheilib, located about 45 km east of Kauda, the SPLM-N (al-Hilu)'s stronghold. The armed group had long maintained a camp there, using the village as a forward defensive position for its main base in Kauda. Military cooperation between the SPLM-N (al-Hilu) and the RSF has been steadily growing since the signing of the Nairobi charter in February. Endorsed by over 40 civilian, political and armed groups, the agreement established a military-political alliance and laid the foundation for a parallel government in Sudan. The charter quickly translated into military cooperation between the RSF and SPLM-N leaderships in terms of troop mobilization and training in SPLM-N-held territories in South Kordofan and the southern Blue Nile State — where the rebel group has been in conflict with the military since 2011. Following the ouster of former Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir in 2019 and in the years leading up to the outbreak of the war in 2023, the military and SPLM-N (al-Hilu) continued to renew a ceasefire agreement on an annual basis. Since the war, however, fighting has resumed between the two. *** Military drones continue to strike RSF strongholds in Nyala, South Darfur For the third consecutive week, the military carried out drone strikes on RSF positions in South Darfur's Nyala, the group's largest stronghold. On Wednesday, the military launched a surprise attack on the Rahman neighborhood, where RSF Deputy Commander Abdel Rahim Dagalo was attending the funeral of one of his commanders who was recently killed in the Kordofan battles, a senior military source in the General Staff told Mada Masr. The strike killed several of the attendees, who comprised fighters and field commanders engaged in logistical operations, according to the source. On Saturday morning, residents heard loud explosions and saw smoke rising near the city's international airport — the RSF's primary logistical and military base. Later that evening, drone strikes resumed, hitting multiple locations across Nyala, local sources told Mada Masr. At least three powerful blasts were heard across the city's central, southern and eastern neighborhoods. Among the sites targeted was Nyala University's Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, which the RSF had repurposed as a military base, one of the local sources said. According to eyewitnesses, the strikes killed and wounded around 25 RSF fighters. The injured were taken to the Turkish Hospital in southern Nyala — a facility that the RSF has recently reopened. Earlier this year, the RSF developed a military airbase and strategic cargo facilities at the Nyala International Airport, a senior military officer had previously told Mada Masr. RSF Deputy Commander Abdel Rahim Dagalo had also moved the group's command to Nyala and has been working to designate the city as the administrative capital for the paramilitary group, according to an RSF military source who spoke to Mada Masr in April. *** Direct clashes resumed in Fasher, the capital of North Darfur, with the military repelling a major assault by elite RSF units on Sunday. The two sides exchanged heavy artillery fire again on Tuesday and Wednesday. A field source told Mada Masr that the RSF deployed elite units — which they said recently trained in Nyala — in an attempt to storm Fasher and seize the military's Sixth Infantry Division command, along with the rest of the city. The assault began in the early morning hours from the eastern side and was preceded by heavy shelling and drone strikes on military defenses, as well as those of the armed movements' joint force and locally mobilized fighters. According to the source, the joint force repelled the assault and inflicted heavy losses on RSF fighters. In a statement, the joint force said it had foiled the 214th RSF attack on Fasher, destroying six Emirati-made armored vehicles and 10 combat trucks along with their crews. The statement added that dozens of RSF fighters were killed or dispersed, with the remainder pursued to the city's outskirts. On Tuesday, the military launched heavy artillery strikes on RSF positions east of the city, prompting retaliatory fire from the RSF, another field source told Mada Masr. The same exchange continued the following day, with RSF surveillance and combat drones flying overhead, according to the source. *** Health official: Nearly 30,000 dead or wounded in North Darfur since war broke out Since May 2024, North Darfur's Fasher has grappled with daily bombardments and a tight siege that has deprived hundreds of thousands of residents of essential supplies. North Darfur Health Ministry General Director Ibrahim al-Khater told Mada Masr that nearly 30,000 people across the state have died or been wounded — whether through direct attacks or illnesses and injuries exacerbated and caused by the RSF's siege and the attacks on healthcare facilities — since the outbreak of war in April 2023. According to Khater, the toll has been heaviest in Fasher and its surrounding areas, as well as in the localities of Kutum, Malit, Um Kadada, Tawila and Dar al-Salam. On the medical front, only three hospitals remain operational across North Darfur. Khater pointed to critical shortages of medicine, medical supplies and food. The ongoing siege has cut off all humanitarian aid, while daily bombardments of health facilities and civilian shelters have led to mounting casualties, he said. Most of those sheltering in these facilities, he added, are elderly people, women, children or already in poor health. The collapse of humanitarian conditions in Fasher was echoed by Adam Regal, the spokesperson for Fasher's General Coordination for Displaced Persons and Refugees. Regal told Mada Masr that the destruction of key health facilities — most notably the clinic at the Abu Shouk displacement camp, north of Fasher — due to RSF artillery shelling has led to a total breakdown of healthcare services. He estimated that dozens of displaced people are wounded everyday in the ongoing artillery attacks. The destruction, compounded by a shortage of medicines and deteriorating living conditions, has driven many to flee the camp, according to Regal. As the situation in Fasher worsens, the areas of Tawila and Kurma have become the destination for thousands fleeing the violence. But these areas are now overwhelmed by the influx and are equally lacking in basic and healthcare services, he said. Regal called on international organizations and donors to scale up aid to Sudan in general — and to Darfur in particular — warning that a cholera outbreak may be imminent if swift containment measures are not taken.
6 hours ago
- Politics
Azerbaijan sentences 7 journalists to prison in latest media crackdown
TALLINN, Estonia -- A court in Azerbaijan on Friday convicted a Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty journalist and six others on multiple charges, handing down prison sentences ranging from 7 1/2 to nine years in prison, RFE/RL and local media reported. The verdict against RFE/RL's Farid Mehralizada and six journalists from Abzas Media, an independent Azerbaijani investigative outlet, marks the latest escalation in the country's crackdown on media. All seven journalists have dismissed the charges as politically motivated, and international rights groups have called for their release. Mehralizada, a journalist with RFE/RL's Azerbaijani service and an economist, was sentenced to nine years in prison, RFE/RL reported. Nine-year sentences were also handed to Abzas Media's director Ulvi Hasanli, chief editor Sevinj Abbasova (Vagifqizi) and investigative journalist Hafiz Babali. Reporters Nargiz Absalamova and Elnara Gasimova were sentenced to eight years in prison, and deputy director Mahammad Kekelov — to 7 1/2 years, Abzas Media said. Reporters Without Borders (RSF) in a statement Friday condemned the sentences as 'outrageous' and 'the outcome of a purely political trial based on fabricated charges, aimed at silencing voices that expose corruption and injustice.' 'The Azerbaijani authorities may imprison journalists, but they cannot imprison the truth," the group's editorial director Anne Bocandé said. 'RSF calls for the immediate release of all Abzas Media defendants and urges international actors to intensify pressure on Baku.' RFE/RL President and CEO Stephen Capus in a statement Friday said Mehralizada was 'unjustifiably detained' and called for his release. 'Farid has already lost a great deal. Unjustifiably detained for more than a year, he missed the birth of his child, and now waits for elusive justice. Denying this man his fundamental rights is unnecessarily cruel. Instead of perpetuating this sham, it's time to reunite Farid with his family,' the statement read. Six Abzas Media journalists were arrested in November 2023. The authorities claimed that they had found 40,000 euros in cash in the outlet's office in Azerbaijan's capital, Baku, and accused them of conspiring foreign currency into Azerbaijan. Mehralizada was arrested in May 2024 as part of the same case, even though both him and Abzas Media said that he never worked for the outlet. Later that year, authorities levied additional charges against Mehralizada and Azbas Media journalists, including illegal entrepreneurship, tax evasion, document forgery and others. In his closing statement to the court, which RFE/RL shared with The Associated Press, Mehralizada said that 'the truth is that I have not committed any media is one of the greatest means of service to the state, the nation, and humanity. Unfortunately, journalism in our country today is almost equated with terrorism.' Weeks before Mehralizada's arrest, in March 2024, Azerbaijani authorities targeted another news outlet, Toplum TV, with raids and arrests on similar charges. In December 2024, Azerbaijani authorities arrested six more journalists on smuggling charges, including five of those working for the independent Meydan TV news outlet. Earlier this year, authorities withdrew press credentials from Voice of America and Bloomberg and shut down the BBC's office in Azerbaijan. In a January 2025 report, Amnesty International said Azerbaijani authorities "have systematically silenced independent media through politically motivated arrests' and that those arrests, as well as shutting down independent news outlets, 'demonstrate Azerbaijan's continued crackdown on the right to freedom of expression and media independence, with fabricated charges weaponized to stifle free media.'
San Francisco Chronicle
6 hours ago
- Politics
- San Francisco Chronicle
Azerbaijan sentences 7 journalists to prison in latest media crackdown
TALLINN, Estonia (AP) — A court in Azerbaijan on Friday convicted a Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty journalist and six others on multiple charges, handing down prison sentences ranging from 7 1/2 to nine years in prison, RFE/RL and local media reported. The verdict against RFE/RL's Farid Mehralizada and six journalists from Abzas Media, an independent Azerbaijani investigative outlet, marks the latest escalation in the country's crackdown on media. All seven journalists have dismissed the charges as politically motivated, and international rights groups have called for their release. Mehralizada, a journalist with RFE/RL's Azerbaijani service and an economist, was sentenced to nine years in prison, RFE/RL reported. Nine-year sentences were also handed to Abzas Media's director Ulvi Hasanli, chief editor Sevinj Abbasova (Vagifqizi) and investigative journalist Hafiz Babali. Reporters Nargiz Absalamova and Elnara Gasimova were sentenced to eight years in prison, and deputy director Mahammad Kekelov — to 7 1/2 years, Abzas Media said. Reporters Without Borders (RSF) in a statement Friday condemned the sentences as 'outrageous' and 'the outcome of a purely political trial based on fabricated charges, aimed at silencing voices that expose corruption and injustice.' 'The Azerbaijani authorities may imprison journalists, but they cannot imprison the truth," the group's editorial director Anne Bocandé said. 'RSF calls for the immediate release of all Abzas Media defendants and urges international actors to intensify pressure on Baku.' RFE/RL President and CEO Stephen Capus in a statement Friday said Mehralizada was 'unjustifiably detained' and called for his release. 'Farid has already lost a great deal. Unjustifiably detained for more than a year, he missed the birth of his child, and now waits for elusive justice. Denying this man his fundamental rights is unnecessarily cruel. Instead of perpetuating this sham, it's time to reunite Farid with his family,' the statement read. Six Abzas Media journalists were arrested in November 2023. The authorities claimed that they had found 40,000 euros in cash in the outlet's office in Azerbaijan's capital, Baku, and accused them of conspiring foreign currency into Azerbaijan. Mehralizada was arrested in May 2024 as part of the same case, even though both him and Abzas Media said that he never worked for the outlet. Later that year, authorities levied additional charges against Mehralizada and Azbas Media journalists, including illegal entrepreneurship, tax evasion, document forgery and others. In his closing statement to the court, which RFE/RL shared with The Associated Press, Mehralizada said that 'the truth is that I have not committed any media is one of the greatest means of service to the state, the nation, and humanity. Unfortunately, journalism in our country today is almost equated with terrorism.' Weeks before Mehralizada's arrest, in March 2024, Azerbaijani authorities targeted another news outlet, Toplum TV, with raids and arrests on similar charges. In December 2024, Azerbaijani authorities arrested six more journalists on smuggling charges, including five of those working for the independent Meydan TV news outlet. Earlier this year, authorities withdrew press credentials from Voice of America and Bloomberg and shut down the BBC's office in Azerbaijan.
Hamilton Spectator
7 hours ago
- Politics
- Hamilton Spectator
Azerbaijan sentences 7 journalists to prison in latest media crackdown
TALLINN, Estonia (AP) — A court in Azerbaijan on Friday convicted a Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty journalist and six others on multiple charges, handing down prison sentences ranging from 7 1/2 to nine years in prison, RFE/RL and local media reported. The verdict against RFE/RL's Farid Mehralizada and six journalists from Abzas Media, an independent Azerbaijani investigative outlet, marks the latest escalation in the country's crackdown on media. All seven journalists have dismissed the charges as politically motivated, and international rights groups have called for their release. Mehralizada, a journalist with RFE/RL's Azerbaijani service and an economist, was sentenced to nine years in prison, RFE/RL reported. Nine-year sentences were also handed to Abzas Media's director Ulvi Hasanli, chief editor Sevinj Abbasova (Vagifqizi) and investigative journalist Hafiz Babali. Reporters Nargiz Absalamova and Elnara Gasimova were sentenced to eight years in prison, and deputy director Mahammad Kekelov — to 7 1/2 years, Abzas Media said. Reporters Without Borders (RSF) in a statement Friday condemned the sentences as 'outrageous' and 'the outcome of a purely political trial based on fabricated charges, aimed at silencing voices that expose corruption and injustice.' 'The Azerbaijani authorities may imprison journalists, but they cannot imprison the truth,' the group's editorial director Anne Bocandé said. 'RSF calls for the immediate release of all Abzas Media defendants and urges international actors to intensify pressure on Baku.' RFE/RL President and CEO Stephen Capus in a statement Friday said Mehralizada was 'unjustifiably detained' and called for his release. 'Farid has already lost a great deal. Unjustifiably detained for more than a year, he missed the birth of his child, and now waits for elusive justice. Denying this man his fundamental rights is unnecessarily cruel. Instead of perpetuating this sham, it's time to reunite Farid with his family,' the statement read. Six Abzas Media journalists were arrested in November 2023. The authorities claimed that they had found 40,000 euros in cash in the outlet's office in Azerbaijan's capital, Baku, and accused them of conspiring foreign currency into Azerbaijan. Mehralizada was arrested in May 2024 as part of the same case, even though both him and Abzas Media said that he never worked for the outlet. Later that year, authorities levied additional charges against Mehralizada and Azbas Media journalists, including illegal entrepreneurship, tax evasion, document forgery and others. In his closing statement to the court, which RFE/RL shared with The Associated Press, Mehralizada said that 'the truth is that I have not committed any media is one of the greatest means of service to the state, the nation, and humanity. Unfortunately, journalism in our country today is almost equated with terrorism.' Weeks before Mehralizada's arrest, in March 2024, Azerbaijani authorities targeted another news outlet, Toplum TV, with raids and arrests on similar charges. In December 2024, Azerbaijani authorities arrested six more journalists on smuggling charges , including five of those working for the independent Meydan TV news outlet. Earlier this year, authorities withdrew press credentials from Voice of America and Bloomberg and shut down the BBC's office in Azerbaijan. In a January 2025 report, Amnesty International said Azerbaijani authorities 'have systematically silenced independent media through politically motivated arrests' and that those arrests, as well as shutting down independent news outlets, 'demonstrate Azerbaijan's continued crackdown on the right to freedom of expression and media independence, with fabricated charges weaponized to stifle free media.' Error! Sorry, there was an error processing your request. There was a problem with the recaptcha. Please try again. You may unsubscribe at any time. By signing up, you agree to our terms of use and privacy policy . This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google privacy policy and terms of service apply. Want more of the latest from us? Sign up for more at our newsletter page .
