Imprisoned Azerbaijani Editor Sevinc Vagifgizi Wins RSF “Courage Award”

Baku/Paris

Sevinc Vagifgizi, the imprisoned editor-in-chief of AbzasMedia, has been awarded the “Courage Award” by Reporters Without Borders (RSF) during the organization’s 33rd Press Freedom Awards ceremony, held in Paris as part of RSF’s 40th-anniversary festival.

The award was accepted on Vagifgizi’s behalf by AbzasMedia director Gunel Safarova, who read a letter from the detained journalist to the audience.

RSF described Vagifgizi as “a symbol of dignity and hope — steadfast in her principles, unyielding under pressure, and resilient in the face of injustice.”

Vagifgizi was arrested in November 2023 alongside AbzasMedia director Ulvi Hasanli, project coordinator Mahammad Kekalov, investigative journalist Hafiz Babali, reporters Elnara Gasimova and Nargiz Absalamova, and economist and Radio Liberty contributor Farid Mehralizadeh. They were charged with smuggling and financial crimes — allegations all of them have denied, insisting the case is politically motivated. Background On June 20, 2025, the Baku Court for Serious Crimes sentenced Vagifgizi, Hasanli, Babali, and Mehralizadeh to nine years in prison, Absalamova and Gasimova to eight years, and Kekalov to seven and a half years.

Over the past two years, nearly 30 journalists have been detained in Azerbaijan, mostly on similar charges. International media freedom and human rights organizations have described these arrests as part of a wider crackdown on independent media, while Azerbaijani authorities maintain that all detentions are based on “specific criminal offenses,” not political motives.