The Azerbaijani Prosecutor General's Office has summoned a US-based journalist for questioning.

Political emigrant and head of the YouTube channel Osmanqızı tv, Sevinj Osmangizi, has been summoned to the Prosecutor General's Office of Azerbaijan for questioning in a criminal case against her. The department has threatened to sentence her in absentia if she fails to appear. Osmangizi considered her persecution to be directed against freedom of speech.

As reported by the "Caucasian Knot", in March 2025, six political emigrants were charged in absentia in Baku on criminal cases. The reports of the Investigative Department of the Prosecutor General's Office about the summoning of six citizens located abroad in connection with criminal cases opened against them were read on the Public Television of Azerbaijan. In particular, the head of the YouTube channel Azerfredoom, Gurban Mammadov; the head of the YouTube channel Azad Soz, Tural Sadigli; bloggers Muhammad Mirzali, Elshad Mammadov, and Gabil Mammadov; and businessman and former head of the large Azerbaijani company Akkord, Ilgar Hajiyev, have been summoned to Baku for questioning.

Osmangizi was summoned to the Prosecutor General's Office of Azerbaijan for questioning at 4:00 PM on November 20. The summons was read to the journalist on Azerbaijani Public Television on November 13.

 "The accused, Sevinj Osman gizi Mirzoyeva, born in 1969, was summoned to the administrative building of the Main Investigation Department of the Prosecutor General's Office of Azerbaijan on November 20, 2025, at 4:00 p.m.," the Prosecutor General's Office said in a statement.

It notes that on February 23, 2025, a decision was made to prosecute Osman gizi under Article 281.2 (Public calls directed against the state, committed by a group of persons) of the Criminal Code of Azerbaijan. “Since she fled the country and evaded investigation, a search was declared for her on the same day,” the statement continued.

She was subsequently also charged under Article 220.2 (Calls for active disobedience to the lawful demands of government officials and for mass riots, as well as calls for violence against citizens) of the Criminal Code of Azerbaijan.

Under these articles of the Criminal Code, Osmanqizi faces a sentence of up to 8 years in prison.

“In her video messages on the OSMANQIZI TV YouTube channel, published on February 17, 2019, October 17, 2019, and July 25, 2020, she preliminarily “In collusion with a group of persons, she influenced people and encouraged them to commit illegal actions against the current government of Azerbaijan, including participating in violent actions, calling for the seizure of power,” the statement continued.

According to the Prosecutor General’s Office, she committed similar actions on September 2, 2023, and January 13, 2024, together with Beydulla Enver oglu Manafov, as well as on June 26, 2024, and December 9, 2024, with Abid Abdin oglu Gafarov, distributing video materials through online resources accessible to an unlimited number of people, the Prosecutor General’s Office emphasized in its announcement.

Osmangyzy is warned in the statement that “if she fails to appear when summoned, proceedings in absentia may be initiated against her, and a verdict in absentia or other court decision."

Abdulla Manafov, an activist living abroad, were also summoned to the Prosecutor General's Office for questioning as defendants at 12:00 and 14:00 on November 20, respectively.

It is obvious that all these criminal cases are aimed against freedom of speech.

Osmangyzy, stating that this was the first time they had heard of a criminal case against her, called the charges "absurd."

"I have not yet watched the videos that the Prosecutor General's Office is accusing me of and I do not know what "crimes" they saw. But one thing is clear: in my speeches There has never been any swearing or calls for protests, which bloggers living abroad have previously been accused of. It is obvious that all these criminal cases are aimed against freedom of speech. I have been in journalism for over 35 years, I have worked on Azerbaijani TV channels, on BBC radio, and prepared reports for CNN. I have always adhered to the principles of democratic journalism. I promoted the principles of democracy and human rights on my channel, and at the same time, I exposed the lies of officials so that people would know the truth,” Osmangyzy told a “Caucasian Knot” correspondent.

Osmangyzy noted that she does not intend to appear for questioning, since there is no fair justice in Azerbaijan.

“I don’t see myself defending myself in a ‘kangaroo court’ (an English idiom meaning an illegal, unfair trial, lynching, mock trial, parody of "[...] justice - ed. "Caucasian Knot"), in which the verdict has already been predetermined," Osmangyzy said.

Opposition blogger Tural Sadigly, in an interview with Osmangyzy on his YouTube channel Azad Soz ("Free Speech"), said that the criminal case against the journalist, like the bloggers living abroad who have previously been accused of crimes, is obviously pointless, since they have received political asylum in the United States and Europe in accordance with the UN Convention.

However, in his opinion, the authorities want to intimidate the accused in this way, force them to soften their criticism, and also discredit them in the eyes of the Azerbaijani audience by downplaying their statements as "persons who have committed crimes."  

Osmangyzy, for her part, said the criminal case doesn't faze her at all. "How can I tone down criticism? I broadcast according to professional and ethical standards," Osmangyzy remarked wryly.

Regarding his criminal case, Sadigly noted that he wasn't interested in the investigation's progress.

"I first consulted with a lawyer in Baku. He said that the criminal case has no legal consequences for me given my international protection, after which I didn’t even inquire about the progress of the investigation,” Sadigli said.  

Abid Gafarov and Beydulla Manafov were unavailable for comment.

It was not possible to obtain additional comments from the press service of the Prosecutor General’s Office.

If the summoned persons do not appear for the investigation, they may be placed on the international wanted list through Interpol or within the framework of the European Convention on Extradition, Samad Rahimli, head of the Defender legal center, said earlier.  “However, if these persons have received refugee status in their countries of residence, then their extradition to Azerbaijan will be impossible. Moreover, extradition requests had already been issued for some of them, but the authorities of their home countries did not extradite the political emigrants,” he told a “Caucasian Knot” correspondent.

As the “Caucasian Knot” reported, in 2019, US-based Azerbaijani journalist Sevinj Osmangizi was subjected to blackmail. After a series of television programs on her online channel dedicated to corruption in Azerbaijan’s oil and gas sector, she received threats, allegedly from government sources, about the publication of her intimate photos unless she ceased her journalistic work.

 As of 2:30 PM Moscow time, Osmangizi’s YouTube channel had 400,000 subscribers.