The office of yet another independent media in Azerbaijan is sealed, employees are detained

Toplum TV: repression in Azerbaijan

In Azerbaijan, the office of the online television channel Toplum TV was searched, and about twenty employees were taken away by the police. Some of them were released around midnight. The co-founder of the online outlet and several employees are accused of “smuggling by a group of people in a premeditated conspiracy.”

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The media office was sealed after the search

On March 6th, the police searched the office of the editorial team of the online outlet Toplum TV and sealed it. The search lasted more than two hours.

All approaches to the building were blocked by the police, and the staff of the media outlet were not allowed into the editorial office. Everyone who was in the office at that moment was taken away by the police in an unknown direction. It was impossible to contact them by phone, so it was difficult to clarify where they were taken, how many there were, and who exactly was among them.

The ministry of internal affairs did not comment on where they were taken and the reason for the detention.

“There is no reasonable explanation for what is happening. It seems that the country wants to completely eliminate independent media outlets, so that there are no platforms left for critical opinions,” said Khadija Ismayil, the chief editor of Toplum TV.

“We are not involved in criminal activities and have not committed any illegal actions. Therefore, there are no legal grounds for what is happening,” she said and added that she cannot obtain any official information from the ministry of internal affairs and get a copy of the search warrant.

The ministry of internal affairs of Azerbaijan limited itself to a brief comment that the search was conducted “at several addresses” based on the information they had received.

Searches at “other addresses”

Later, it became known that the “other addresses” were the office of the “Third Republic Platform,” co-founded by Akif Gurbanov, who is also a co-founder of Toplum TV. Searches were conducted at his apartment, as well as the apartments of Toplum TV staff Farid Ismayilov and Elmir Abbasov.

During the search at the office of the “Third Republic Platform,” co-founders Akif Gurbanov, Araz Aliyev, and Ruslan Izzetly were detained. The latter two were released around midnight.

Both activists said they did not hand over their phones and did not reveal their passwords, and therefore physical pressure was exerted on them.

Shakhla Gumbatova, the lawyer of Akif Gurbanov, was not allowed to be present during the searches at the office and in his apartment. She posted a video on social media where she knocks on the door of Gurbanov’s apartment for a long time, but no one opens it. Later, the lawyer reported that people in masks forcefully pushed her away from the apartment door.

About ten people are suspected of smuggling

By midnight, around ten employees of Toplum TV, who were detained on March 6th, were released from the main police department of Baku city. This was reported by the chief editor Khadija Ismayil.

The Toplum TV employees Elmir Abbasov, Taleh Badalov, Khanlar Alizade, Mushvig Jabbarov, and Farid Ismayilov, as well as members of the Democratic Initiatives Institute (IDI) Ali Zeynal and Ilkin Ahmedov, and member of the “Third Republic Platform” Akif Gurbanov, remained in police custody.

A criminal case has been initiated against Farid Ismayilov under Article 206.3.2 (smuggling by a premeditated group of persons) of the Criminal Code of Azerbaijan, reported by lawyer Zibeyda Sadygova.

During the search at Ismayilov’s apartment, about 3,000 euros were “seized.”

According to the lawyer, Ismayilov stated that he was subjected to psychological and physical pressure to sign some documents. He refused. The defense will file a complaint.

According to the latest information, Mushvig Jabbarov, Ali Zeynal, Ramil Babayev, Elmir Abbasov, and Ilkin Ahmedov are also suspected under Article 206.3.2.

Toplum TV’s YouTube channel hacked

On the same day, the Toplum TV account on YouTube was renamed, and videos started disappearing.

The page had a total of 3,600 videos and 92,000 subscribers.

According to human rights defenders, law enforcement agencies gained access to the account or forced the page administrator to destroy years of journalists’ work.

“The United States is deeply concerned”

U.S. State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller stated that “the United States is deeply concerned” about these events, as reported by a Turan correspondent from Washington.

“We express our strong objections against the ongoing attempts to intimidate, suppress, and punish journalists, civil society activists, and opposition figures,” Miller added.

“We urge Azerbaijan to end the persecution of those exercising their fundamental freedoms and call for the release of all individuals unjustly detained in politically motivated cases. No one should face imprisonment or other punishment for exercising freedom of expression,” said the State department spokesperson at the briefing.

Why does he think the government will listen to these calls if it has so far ignored similar reactions from the international community?

In response to this question from Turan agency, Miller replied: “I will not draw any other conclusions, just say that they should stop suppressing freedom of expression — because it is in the interests of their own people.

I can assure you that when we conduct private diplomatic negotiations with Azerbaijani officials, as the secretary of state did last month, we raise these very issues.“