In Azerbaijan, a well-known journalist was interrogated in the Toplum TV case
Prominent investigative journalist Khadija Ismayilova was summoned to give testimony in the “Toplum TV case.” Many feared her arrest. Ismayilova refused to testify. About three hours later, she was released.
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On March 14, at 3 p.m., Khadija Ismayilova, the chief editor of Toplum TV, was summoned to the Baku City police department. Ismayilova reported this on her Facebook page.
Before this, on March 10, the journalist was contacted by the city police and warned that she would be called in to give testimony, presumably within the criminal investigation initiated in the “Toplum TV case.”
“In fact, I do not know what I will testify about, as Toplum TV has done nothing that could be the subject of a criminal case. Toplum TV was engaged exclusively in journalism and in training young journalists. If that is a crime, let them substantiate it, although I do not know how they will do so,” Khadija Ismayilova told journalists.
Khadija Ismayilova was arrested on December 5, 2014, facing charges including illegal business activities and tax evasion. She was sentenced to 7 years and 6 months in prison, with an additional condition preventing her from holding any managerial positions for three years.
Over two years later, due to an appeal, the Supreme Court modified her sentence to a 3.5-year suspended term, leading to her release. By 2019, Ismayilova had completed the term of her conditional sentence.
Since May 2022, she has held the position of chief editor at Toplum TV.
On March 6 in Baku, police conducted a raid against the independent online channel Toplum TV.
A criminal case has been initiated under Article 206.3.2 (smuggling committed by a group of individuals in prior agreement) of the Criminal code of Azerbaijan.
During the operation, about twenty people were detained. Although most of them were released, five individuals, including Akif Gurbanov, a co-founder of Toplum TV and head of the Institute for Democratic Initiatives, and also a co-founder of the “Third Republic Platform,” were arrested, and two others were subjected to criminal liability but released under police supervision.
On March 8, in connection with the same case, Toplum TV co-founder Alesker Mamedli and one of the founders of the “Third Republic Platform,” Ruslan Izzetli, were detained and subjected to criminal liability.
The so-called “Toplum TV case” encompasses all three organizations associated with Akif Gurbanov – the eponymous online television, the Institute for Democratic Initiatives, and the Third Republic Platform. All individuals involved in this criminal case are employees of these three organizations.
Toplum TV released a statement asserting that the incident is related to their professional activities and considered it an attack on independent media. Many local and international organizations have recognized the arrested individuals as political prisoners and have called for their immediate release by the authorities.
