US officials and media groups press Azerbaijan to free detained journalists
US government officials and media organisations are urging Azerbaijan to release journalists Ulviyya Ali and Farid Mehralizada, whose imprisonments have drawn diplomatic attention during the Trump administration’s outreach to Baku.
Two Azerbaijani journalists - Ulviyya Ali, who worked for Voice of America, and Farid Mehralizada, formerly with RFE/RL - are being held on a series of smuggling, money-laundering and tax-evasion charges that they claim stem from their journalistic work. Ali was detained in May 2025 as part of the Meydan TV case, while Mehralizada received a nine-year sentence after a May 2024 arrest tied to the Abzas Media investigation.
A working group comprising former VOA and RFE/RL staff and the Virginia-based MediaSafe organisation is lobbying US diplomatic, legal and public-relations channels to secure their freedom. US Agency for Global Media head Michael Rigas confirmed the agency’s multi-track approach, and US House Azerbaijan Caucus co-chairs Steve Cohen and Robert Aderholt have written to Ambassador Khazar Ibrahim seeking clarification. Vice President JD Vance mentioned the detentions during a recent trip to Baku, yet the Azerbaijani authorities have remained silent, dismissing foreign criticism as unfounded.
Why it matters
The case highlights the clash between US diplomatic outreach to Azerbaijan and concerns over press freedom and human-rights abuses.
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