Farid Mehralizada is an economist and journalist for Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL)’s Azerbaijani Service, known locally as Radio Azadliq, who has been unjustly detained in Baku since May 30, 2024. On June 20, 2025, he was convicted and sentenced to nine years in prison on charges of money laundering and ‘illegal entrepreneurship.’ His appeal to Azerbaijan’s Supreme Court was rejected in April 2026.
On the morning of May 30, 2024, Mehralizada was violently abducted near a Baku metro station by unidentified men. Placing a bag over his head, the men took him to a police station. Later that day, Azerbaijani police escorted Mehralizada home, where he lived with his then-pregnant wife. Officers raided the couple’s home and seized their computer, mobile phones, and car.
Authorities prevented Mehralizada’s lawyer from being present during the search of his home. He was denied legal counsel until the evening, as officers claimed he was not under detention but simply invited to the police station to testify as a witness, despite not having received any prior notice.
On June 1, 2024, a Baku court placed Mehralizada in pretrial detention for “conspiring to smuggle foreign currency” under Article 206.3.2 of Azerbaijan’s Criminal Code in connection with a case Azerbaijani authorities brought against the independent media outlet Abzas Media. Following his arrest, Abzas Media stated that Mehralizada had no direct involvement with the outlet and was one of many experts whose comments appeared on its website.
On August 19, 2024, Azerbaijani authorities brought new charges against Mehralizada, accusing him of “illegal entrepreneurship, money laundering, tax evasion, and document forgery” offenses carrying possible sentence of 12 years in prison.
On February 11, 2025, Mehralizada and his co-defendants refused to appear in court in protest of the Azerbaijani authorities’ failure to investigate complaints of mistreatment. Authorities responded by forcibly bringing them to court.
Mehralizada’s detention has drawn international condemnation. Responding to a question about Mehralizada’s detention on June 5, 2024, U.S. State Department Spokesperson Matthew Miller said the United States was “deeply troubled by the continued arrests of members of Azerbaijani civil society.”
On September 11, 2024, 25 civil society organizations, including the Committee to Protect Journalists, Human Rights Watch, PEN America, and Reporters Without Borders, called on the Azerbaijani government to release all defendants in the Abzas Media case.
On September 25, 2024, a dozen human rights organizations called on the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) to demand the immediate release of Mehralizada and others held on “bogus criminal charges” in Azerbaijan.
On October 24, 2024, the European Parliament adopted a resolution denouncing human rights violations in Azerbaijan and calling for the release of Mehralizada and other political prisoners.
While in prison, Farid missed the birth of his only child. He is one of three RFE/RL journalists currently unfairly imprisoned for their work, along with Nika Novak in Russia and Reza Valizadeh in Iran.