# Nargiz Absalamova

Nargiz Absalamova (born 17 July 1998) is an Azerbaijani journalist and political prisoner. She is known for her work with independent media outlets such as Gazette, MikroskopMedia, Toplum TV, and Abzas Media. She has experienced police violence and harassment due to her investigative reporting. Absalamova was detained multiple times while covering protests. She was charged with smuggling in 2023, a charge she denies, and has been detained since then.

## Early life and education

Nargiz Absalamova was born on 17 July 1998, in Baku, Azerbaijan. She began her education at secondary school No. 170 in 2004 and graduated in 2015. That same year, she enrolled in the Faculty of Journalism at Baku State University, from which she graduated in 2019.
Upon completing her higher education, she participated in a journalism training program at the Institute of Democratic Initiatives in 2019. Following this, she embarked on her journalism career, working with various independent media outlets such as Gazette, MikroskopMedia, Toplum TV, and Abzas Media.

## Journalism career

As a journalist, Absalamova has experienced police violence and harassment. In 2021, while covering a feminist protest, she and her colleagues were detained by officers from the Khazar District Police Department. A recording of the threats and violence they received while in custody was released.
In December 2022, during a protest against the government's proposed "On Media" law, she was subjected to police brutality, resulting in a broken collarbone. On June 21, 2023, while covering a protest by residents of Soyudlu village in Gadabay district, she was detained, had her phone confiscated, and was forcibly removed from the village.
Absalamova has primarily worked for Abzas Media, an independent media platform that conducts investigative journalism into the activities of government officials in Azerbaijan, including alleged corruption in reconstruction efforts in Karabakh since 2020. Between 2022 and 2023, Abzas Media examined the family members of Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev, Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov, the head of the Presidential Security Service Baylar Eyyubov, and the head of the State Security Service Ali Naghiyev. They also published reports on tenders associated with the Heydar Aliyev Foundation and PASHA Holding. The "Unsolved Crimes" series included research on former metro chief Taghi Ahmadov, former rector of Baku Slavic University Nurlana Aliyeva, former commander of the 1st Army Corps Hikmat Hasanov, former mayor of Baku Hajibala Abutalybov, former deputy Elmira Akhundova, former Minister of Ecology and Natural Resources Huseyngulu Baghirov, and current Minister of Finance Samir Sharifov, highlighting uninvestigated crimes.

## Arrest and detention

On November 20, 2023, Ulvi Hasanli, the CEO of Abzas Media, was detained near his home while en route to the airport for an international trip. Hasanli was taken to the Main Police Department of Baku city, where both his home and the Abzas Media office were searched. Zibeyda Sadigova, Hasanli's lawyer, reported that during a five-hour search at the office, the police allegedly found 40,000 euros. Additionally, on the night of November 20–21, Sevinj Vagifgizi, the editor-in-chief of Abzas Media, returned to Azerbaijan from Istanbul, was detained by police at Heydar Aliyev International Airport, and had her apartment searched. Both journalists were charged under Article 206.3.2 (smuggling in a preliminary arrangement by a group of persons) of the Criminal code and were placed in pre-trial detention.
In November 2023, following the arrest of Abzas Media managers and employees on smuggling charges, Nargiz was interrogated as a witness at the Main Police Department of Baku City. A week later, on November 30, she was summoned again as a witness but was detained as a suspect and charged under Article 206.3.2 (smuggling; on preliminary arrangement by group of persons) of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Azerbaijan. On December 1, the Khatai District Court ordered her detention for three months.
In court, Absalamova denied the accusations, asserting that her arrest, like that of her colleagues, was linked to her journalism, particularly her investigations into corruption for Abzas Media. During the investigation, her detention was extended three times, with the latest extension on June 11, 2024, adding another three months to her pretrial detention. The Committee to Protect Journalists called on Azerbaijani authorities to release her and her jailed Abzas Media colleagues. Additionally, international human rights organizations, including Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch (HRW), the European Federation of Journalists, the Norwegian Helsinki Committee, along with the US State Department, have condemned Absalamova's arrest.
On 19 August 2024, new charges were filed against Absalamova and her colleagues, including illegal entrepreneurship, smuggling by criminal means in the form of an organised gang, forgery, and tax evasion. These charges are punishable by imprisonment of up to 12 years.