On 26 August, another appeal hearing was held in the “Abzas Media case.”

At the session chaired by Judge Zafar Ahmadov, the defendants first objected to the composition of the judicial panel.

Abzas Media’s editor-in-chief Sevinj Vagifqizi said that Zafar Ahmadov was recently dismissed from the prosecutor’s office but was then “mysteriously” appointed as a judge of the Court of Appeal.

“Zafar Ahmadov got this position thanks to his father, former MP Vahid Ahmadov. He cannot make decisions independently, he only carries out the instructions he is given. That is why we object to this judicial panel,” she said.

Investigative journalist Hafiz Babali added that he objects to the entire process, because he does not believe those presiding are real judges.

The court rejected these objections and continued with the same panel. 

Later, defense lawyers submitted motions and requested acquittals for their clients. The defendants themselves also spoke, stressing again that, as in the trial court, their imprisonment is political and linked to their professional activities and investigations into corruption.

Abzas Media’s director Ulvi Hasanli said that, just like in the first-instance court, they do not expect any fair decision from this appeal.

Employees of Abzas Media, known for investigations into corruption involving President Ilham Aliyev and his close circle, were arrested in November 2023 when the case began.

In May 2024, Farid Mehralizade, an economist and journalist with Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, was also arrested in connection with the case.

The journalists were charged with smuggling and serious financial crimes. However, both they and local and international human rights defenders rejected the charges, linking the criminal prosecution directly to their journalism.

The pre-trial investigation and court proceedings together lasted nearly two years.

On 20 June, at a hearing in the Baku Court on Grave Crimes chaired by Judge Rasim Sadigov, Ulvi Hasanli, Sevinj Abbasova (Vagifqizi), Hafiz Babali, and Farid Mehralizade were each sentenced to 9 years in prison; Nargiz Absalamova and Elnara Gasimova to 8 years; and Mahammad Kekalov to 7 years and 6 months.