Sevinc Vagifgizi: What Fear Can Prison Hold for Those Who Have Faced Death?

On 20 June, during the final hearing of the “Abzas Media case,” Sevinc Vagifgizi (Abbasova), the imprisoned editor-in-chief of Abzas Media, delivered a powerful final statement before the court sentenced her to nine years in prison.

Below is the full text of her statement:

Independent journalism has always been a clandestine act in Azerbaijan — this has been true since the very beginning of national press. Those who accuse us of operating covertly forget that Uzeyir Hajibeyov, the composer of our national anthem and a publicist, had to write under 67 pseudonyms to protect himself from the repressions of Stalin’s regime. Hajibeyov survived Stalin, but if he lived today, it would be hard for him to escape Ilham Aliyev’s mass arrests.

None of the journalists standing trial today wrote under pseudonyms. They worked anonymously because in Azerbaijan, journalists are not known for their reporting, but for the news of their arrests. In this country, nothing has changed in a century — independent journalism is still treated like a crime. Free journalists in this country have always watched their backs, worked from basements, and protected their cameras more than themselves, just to deliver the truth.

Officials claim we’re not imprisoned for journalism, but they fail to explain how 26 journalists became “smugglers” within just a year and a half. They didn’t just close down independent media offices — they jailed those who aspired to become professional journalists.

This operation against Abzas Media allegedly began with a tip-off from a “reliable source.” They won’t name this source, but we know it: it is President Ilham Aliyev himself, because our investigations exposed corruption within his inner circle.

We are accused of working without a license, but even the chairman of the state’s Media Development Agency informed investigators that we did not fall under the category requiring permission. We are representatives of the free press. A generation of journalists shaped by the murder of Elmar Huseynov at his doorstep. Does this government really think prison will frighten those prepared to face death?

The government wanted to turn us from the ones who question into the ones being questioned. But for 19 months, even the officials at the detention center have had to answer our questions about why they don’t follow the law.

In a country where free media existed before the state itself, no regime will ever silence independent journalists. We are already free — free in our conscience, in our commitment to the truth. It is not us who are imprisoned; it is those who build walls within themselves.

During her speech, Vagifgizi reflected on the systemic repression of the press and highlighted the courage of her colleagues, emphasizing that their so-called “crimes” were in fact the exposure of corruption and injustice.