Fairness Report: Abzas Media

CFJ’s TrialWatch team has released a new report on the criminal proceedings against seven journalists and media workers from, or allegedly from, Abzas Media, an independent Azerbaijani outlet known for reporting on alleged government corruption. Among them are editors, journalists and an economist whose reporting examined corruption and government accountability. They were sentenced to between seven and nine years’ imprisonment after being convicted on a series of alleged financial crimes.

Based on CFJ’s trial monitoring and expert legal analysis conducted pro bono by law firm Davis Wright Tremaine LLP, the report concludes that the proceedings violated fair trial protections under the European Convention on Human Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights – treaties that Azerbaijan has ratified – and raises serious concerns about the justice system in Azerbaijan being used to target independent journalism.