Human rights defenders launch campaign to protect arrested “Meydan TV” journalists

The “Amnesty International” human rights organization has launched a campaign demanding the release of “Meydan TV” journalists arrested in Azerbaijan. The human rights organization has called on its supporters to send letters to the President of Azerbaijan calling for the release of the journalists.

The “Amnesty International” (AI) human rights organization notes that “the Azerbaijani authorities’ crackdown on independent media has resulted in the prosecution of more than 15 journalists and employees from independent media outlets since November 2023.” In particular, these are the arrests of journalists from the “Abzas Media”, “Kanal-11”, “Kanal-13”, and other media outlets, including employees of the “Toplum TV” and the Institute for Democratic Initiatives.

“In the run up to COP29 and the elections held in February (presidential) and September (parliamentary) of 2024, the Azerbaijani authorities arrested and prosecuted their critics, including prominent scholar Gubad Ibadoghlu, political opposition activist Tofig Yagublu, environmental human right defender Anar Mamedli, and researcher Bakhruz Samadov. On December 3, they arrested well-known human rights defender Rufat Safarov,” the “Amnesty International” (AI) emphasizes.

Let us remind you that on December 12, the “Union for Freedom of Political Prisoners in Azerbaijan” released an updated list of political prisoners, the number of which increased to 331.