Hafiz Babaly – Head of the Economic Department of the Turan News Agency and investigative journalist Date of arrest: 13 December 2023 Charge: Article 206.4 (Smuggling, committed by the organized group) of the Criminal Code of the Azerbaijan Republic.
On 7 August, 2024, the accused were brought additional charges under the Articles 192.3.2 (Illegal business, committed with gaining an extra large-scale income); 193-1.3.1 (Legalization of money or other property obtained by crime, committed by an organized group or a criminal organization (criminal association); 193-1.3.2 (Legalization of money or other property obtained by crime, committed in large amount); 213.2.1 (Evasion from payment of taxes, committed by the organized group); 320.1 (Fake of certificate or other official document giving the rights or releasing from duties, with a view of its use or selling of such document, as well as manufacturing in same purposes or selling of counterfeit state awards of the Azerbaijan Republic, stamps, seals, forms) and 320.2 (Use of obviously counterfeit documents) of the Criminal Code of the Azerbaijan Republic.
On 14 December 2023, the Baku City Khatai District Court issued an order: to satisfy the investigator’s petition on arrest and issue a preventive measure against Hafiz Babaly in the form of detention for a period of 3 months.
The period of detention in custody during the investigation has been subsequently extended several times On 7 March 2024, the Baku City Khatai District Court denied the defence's motion to replace the preventive measure of restraint in the form of arrest on the house arrest.
As his lawyer Rasul Jafarov stated, "We filed a petition to place Babaly under a house arrest.
We also asked to take into account Babaly's medical condition.
He has a disability group 3 since a vision of one eye is limited to 30 per cent.
The vision of the other eye is also very poor.
However, the Court did not satisfy our petition and prolonged the arrest until 13 June".
Sentence: On 20 June 2025, the Baku City Court for Serious Crimes sentenced to 9 years in prison Judge: Rasim Sadikhov Place of detention: Penal Colony № 2 at the Bina settlement in Baku City Azizbayov District Conclusion: 16 Hafiz Babaly is the author of numerous studies on the corruption of high-ranking officials in Azerbaijan.
He writes for free and independent media like the Turan News Agency, Radio Liberty, Meydan TV, the new media channel ASTNA and the anti-corruption portal Open Azerbaijan.
He became one of the laureates of the 2019 Free Media Award, awarded by the Norwegian Fritt Ord Foundation and the German ZEIT Foundation.
On 28 November 2023, Hafiz Babaly was questioned in the Baku City Police Department about the activities of the internet publication Abzas Media.
After it all his bank accounts were blocked, even his disability pension account.
Babaly’s family reported that on 13 December an investigator of the Baku City Police Department and eight police officers searched his house. “Hafiz was stopped by the police on his way to work and handcuffed.
Then they searched our house for more than two hours.
They searched everywhere.
They even checked the children’s books.
They took away Hafiz’s computer, phone and a number of documents related to his activities,” a relative of the journalist told Voice of America.
He was without a lawyer during the detention and search.
After the beginning of the investigation, Hafiz Babaly denied all the charges brought against him stating that he had been persecuted due to his journalistic investigations.
