Seven Azerbaijani political emigrants have been charged in absentia with inciting unrest.

The trial of seven emigrants, including bloggers and government critics, has begun in Baku. They have been charged in absentia with inciting terrorism and mass unrest.

As reported by the Caucasian Knot, in March, six political emigrants were charged in absentia in Baku on criminal charges. Gurban Mammadov, head of the Azerfredoom YouTube channel; Tural Sadigli, head of the Azad Soz YouTube channel; bloggers Muhammad Mirzali, Elshad Mammadov, and Gabil Mammadov; and Ilgar Hajiyev, entrepreneur and former head of the major Azerbaijani company Akkord, have been summoned for questioning in Baku.

The Baku Court of Grave Crimes has begun hearing the criminal case against bloggers Tural Sadigli, Elshad Mammadov, Gurban Mammadov, and Suleyman Suleymanli, all of whom live abroad, Meydan TV reported today on its website.

According to the indictment read out in court, three other people are also accused in this case: Ordukhan Teymurkhan (Babiro), Orkhan Agayev, and Rafael Piriyev. They are charged under several articles of the Criminal Code, including fraud and calls for terrorism and anti-state activity.

Since all the defendants are located outside of Azerbaijan, the court ordered their arrest in absentia, the publication states.

As a reminder, on November 13, Sevinj Osmangizi, a journalist and head of the YouTube channel Osmanqızı TV who had left for the United States, was summoned to the Prosecutor General's Office of Azerbaijan for questioning. The office threatened to sentence her in absentia if she failed to appear. Osmangizi's case was opened in February and is being investigated under charges of incitement to mass unrest and calls against the state. The journalist considered her persecution to be aimed at freedom of speech.

The authorities are using this method to intimidate political emigrants, force them to tone down their criticism, and also discredit them in the eyes of the Azerbaijani audience as "persons who have committed crimes," stated blogger Tural Sadigli.

Journalists from Abzas Media, Meydan TV, Toplum TV, and Kanal-13 have also been persecuted in Azerbaijan. Details were compiled by the "Caucasian Knot" in its report "Serial Arrests of Journalists in Azerbaijan".

On June 20, seven employees of the online publication Abzas Media 1 were sentenced to prison terms ranging from 7.5 to 9 years. In court, they denied the charges, emphasizing that they were being persecuted for their professional activities and for investigating corruption. On September 9, the appellate court upheld the sentence. You can read about the focus of the publication's anti-corruption investigations in the "Caucasian Knot" report "Why Abzas Media Displeased the Azerbaijani Authorities".

The number of political prisoners in Azerbaijan reached its highest point in 2024 since the country's 23-year membership in the Council of Europe, according to the "Caucasian Knot" report "Key Points About the Record Number of Political Prisoners in Azerbaijan". At the same time, the Azerbaijani authorities deny the existence of political prisoners in the country.