On January 21, the next hearing in the "Abzas Media case" was held.

On January 21, the Baku Court on Grave Crimes held the next hearing in the "Abzas Media case," presided over by Judge Rasim Sadikhov. During the session, Ulvi Hasanli, the director of "Abzas Media," delivered his testimony.

Hasanli initially filed a motion requesting that journalists be allowed into the courtroom. However, the judge denied the motion, citing time constraints, and some attendees were not permitted entry into the courtroom.

In his testimony, Ulvi Hasanli stated that he and several colleagues founded "Abzas Media" in 2016. Since its inception, the platform has focused on covering issues of significant public interest in Azerbaijan.

“We published corruption investigations involving high-ranking state officials, including the country’s president, Ilham Aliyev, the head of the Presidential Security Service, Beylar Eyubov, and the chief of the State Security Service, Ali Nagiyev. We knew this would make us a target, and that’s exactly what happened. I was beaten when I detained and later twice. As soon as they detained me, they asked, ‘Why are you conducting corruption investigations?’” stated Ulvi Hasanli.

He further noted that the criminal case was fabricated based on false evidence and testimonies obtained through pressure and threats. According to Hasanli, even the official documents presented as evidence in the case file were falsified.

“They claimed that Sevinc and I had traveled to the U.S. Sevinc has never been to the U.S. in her life, and I was there in 2012—long before ‘Abzas Media’ even existed. The 40,000 euros allegedly found in the office were planted by the police. They moved me to another room, and when they brought me back, they reached up and took the money from the top of a cabinet. We repeatedly requested that the money be examined for fingerprints to see if ours were on it. They refused without justification. There are hundreds of such violations in this case. The ‘Abzas Media case’ is yet another disgraceful fabrication orchestrated by the dictator,” Hasanli emphasized.

Following this, the state prosecutor posed questions to Ulvi Hasanli. However, Hasanli dismissed the questions as unserious and refused to answer them.

“You’re asking if I have a bank card and whether I’ve ever spent money using it? What kind of unserious question is that? Is there anyone nowadays who doesn’t have a bank card?” he added.

Since November of last year, six staff members of "Abzas Media," known for conducting corruption investigations involving Azerbaijan's state leadership, have been arrested. These include General Director Ulvi Hasanli, Deputy Director Muhammad Kekalov, Chief Editor Sevinj Vagifqizi, reporters Nargiz Absalamova and Elnara Gasimova, and investigative journalist Hafiz Babali. They have been charged with smuggling.

On May 31 of this year, Farid Mehralizadeh, an economist and journalist for "Azadliq Radiosu," was detained, and his home was searched. On June 1, he was charged under Article 206.3.2 of the Criminal Code (smuggling committed by a group of persons acting in collusion) in connection with the "Abzas Media case." By a decision of the Khatai District Court, a pretrial detention measure was imposed on him.

That same day, "Abzas Media" issued a statement asserting that Mehralizadeh had no affiliation or collaboration with their media organization.

Subsequently, additional charges concerning financial matters were brought against each of the individuals detained in this case under seven separate articles.

Local and international human rights organizations have condemned these actions as politically motivated, calling for the release of the detainees and the withdrawal of all charges against them.