In a series of poignant letters smuggled out of prison, journalist Farid Mehralizade paints a grim picture of life behind bars and the escalating pressure he faces for refusing to testify against his colleagues at Abzas Media. Mehralizade, arrested in March 2024, has been in detention for over two months without a conviction, accused of charges he firmly denies.
“I am not a criminal,” he writes. “I was just doing my job as a journalist.” According to Mehralizade, the authorities’ interest lies not in justice, but in dismantling Abzas Media and punishing those associated with it. “Their goal is to silence us by forcing one of us to testify against the others. I have refused, and I will continue to refuse.”
Mehralizade’s letters reveal the psychological and physical toll of his imprisonment. He reports being held in a small, cold cell where “even the light struggles to get in,” and shares that the prison conditions are intentionally harsh, aimed at coercing him into cooperation. “I am under constant surveillance. I am questioned frequently. I am made to feel like a pawn in someone else’s game.”
Despite the pressure, Mehralizade remains resolute. “They expected me to break,” he writes. “Instead, they will find that their repression has only strengthened my belief in the truth and in my colleagues.”
In another letter, he challenges the justice system’s silence in the face of what he calls a “deliberate fabrication.” “Where is the judge who cares that I am being held for refusing to lie?” he asks. “Why are the courts complicit in this campaign against journalists?”
Mehralizade also underscores the cost of his resistance. “Yes, I am suffering. My family is suffering. But I cannot live with myself if I betray the people I worked with or the values I believe in.” He adds that his arrest is a message to all journalists: speak the truth, and you will pay a price.
Still, he urges his supporters not to lose hope. “I am still here. I am still standing. And I am not alone. There are many of us who believe in the power of journalism and in the right of people to know the truth.”
Mehralizade’s case is part of a broader crackdown on independent media in Azerbaijan, where Abzas Media has faced mounting legal and political pressure. Human rights organizations have condemned the arrests as politically motivated and called for the immediate release of all detained journalists.
In the final lines of his latest letter, Mehralizade writes: “Even if I remain behind these bars, my voice will not be silenced. Journalism is not a crime.”