<p class="wp-block-paragraph">The relationship between the United States and <a href="https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/tag/azerbaijan/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Azerbaijan</a>, which was tense during former President Joe Biden’s administration, has <a href="https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/world/4680168/one-year-us-peace-armenia-azerbaijan/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">improved over the past year</a>, but the detention of two journalists who worked with U.S. outlets remains a significant source of tension.</p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Azerbaijan has been involved in high-profile criminal cases against employees of media outlets critical of the government over the past three years, with the most notable cases involving independent outlets Meydan TV and Abzas Media. The charges against the defendants are not political; the seven defendants in the Abzas Media case face charges of currency smuggling, money laundering, tax evasion, and document forgery, while the 12 defendants in the Meydan TV case were charged with similar financial crimes. Defenders of the accused argue that the prosecutions are based on their journalistic work.</p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Among the 19 defendants in similar cases, two have drawn attention in Washington due to their work with U.S. outlets: Ulviyya Guliyeva, 32, and Farid Mehralizada, 31.</p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Guliyeva, also known as Ulviyya Ali, is a freelance reporter whose work since 2012 has focused on human rights and corruption in Azerbaijan. She has collaborated with the U.S. outlet Voice of America, producing over 1,000 news stories and reports from 2019 to 2025. She was arrested at her home in Baku on May 7, 2025, on charges of smuggling, which could lead to an eight-year sentence. Guliyeva maintains her innocence and claims she is being targeted for her journalistic activities.</p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Mehralizada, an economist and reporter with Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty Azerbaijan Service, was detained on May 30, 2024, initially on charges of conspiring to smuggle foreign currency, and later on charges of illegal entrepreneurship, money laundering, tax evasion, and document forgery.</p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">The detentions and alleged mistreatment of the two journalists have prompted advocacy from a coalition of groups in the U.S., which has intensified in recent months. This effort began with a small working group in December 2025, comprising current and former employees of VOA and RFE/RL, along with the Virginia-based MediaSafe, led by journalist-safety consultant Eric Phillips.</p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">The working group has become more public as it continues to lobby nongovernmental organizations, Congress, and the White House.</p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">“Our mission here is to demonstrate that the entire U.S. government, that we’re aware of, potentially the vice president’s office, and definitely the State Department under Secretary of State Marco Rubio, and definitely prominent folks on Capitol Hill, both the House and Senate … Voice of America and [U.S. Agency for Global Media] are all united in trying to get these journalists, [Guliyeva] and [Mehralizada], out of this horrible situation,” Voice of America deputy director Chris Wallace told the <em>Washington Examiner</em> in an interview.</p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">The USAGM is the parent agency that oversees VOA and RFE/RL, with VOA functioning as a federal entity and RFE/RL as a grantee. Both entities operate independently and do not have direct access to government agencies.</p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Phillips agreed with Wallace’s assessment, stating that the independent working group is coordinating closely with VOA.</p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">“We are all in lockstep,” Phillips said. “We are all moving forward with the same interests. So there shouldn’t be any assumption that there are two different groups doing two different things.”</p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">The working group has also developed strategies to increase the likelihood of freeing the two journalists. According to an internal VOA document, both Guliyeva and Mehralizada have expressed willingness to leave the country if released, a move supported by the working group.</p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Wallace expressed hope that the U.N. General Assembly would provide an opportunity for U.S. officials to discuss the issue with Azerbaijani officials.</p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">“I know for a fact that either of us, but especially the USAGM CEO, who happens to also be the deputy secretary of state, would be open to discussing this with the Azerbaijanis here at the U.N. General Assembly,” Wallace said.</p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Supporting Wallace’s statement, acting USAGM CEO Michael Rigas stated that VOA is “engaging every available diplomatic, legislative, interagency and advocacy resource to secure the immediate release of detained journalists in Azerbaijan and elsewhere, including former VOA contributor Ulviyya Ali and RFE journalist Farid Mehralizada.”</p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">“Securing the freedom of unjustly imprisoned journalists and defending press freedom worldwide are top priorities for VOA and USAGM, and we are working tirelessly with international partners, human rights organizations and the U.S. government toward that goal,” Rigas added.</p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">The <em>Washington Examiner</em> reached out to the State Department for comment.</p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">The cases have also raised concerns among pro-Azerbaijan figures in the U.S. A source familiar with the matter informed the <em>Washington Examiner</em> that the co-chairmen of the House Azerbaijan Caucus, Reps. Steve Cohen (D-TN) and Robert Aderholt (R-AL), wrote a letter to Azerbaijani Ambassador to the U.S. Khazar Ibrahim last month, requesting his engagement on the matter and expressing their concerns.</p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">The <em>Washington Examiner</em> reached out to Cohen’s and Aderholt’s offices for comment.</p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">The White House, which has prioritized strengthening its relationship with Azerbaijan, has reportedly acknowledged the issue as well. Vice President JD Vance <a href="https://x.com/SteveCapus/status/2041567141233623389?s=20" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">reportedly raised the issue</a> of the two detained journalists during his trip to Baku earlier this year.</p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Despite the engagement from various parties, there have not been many positive developments from Baku.</p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">“Absolute silence,” Phillips said when asked about Baku’s response to the matter.</p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">The <em>Washington Examiner</em> reached out to the Azerbaijani Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Ministry of Justice with a list of questions and requests for comment.</p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">While Baku has not provided direct answers to previous public inquiries about Guliyeva and Mehralizada, it has elaborated on its rationale in past comments responding to criticism of the prosecutions of journalists.</p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph"><a href="https://www.swissinfo.ch/eng/azerbaijan-accuses-eu-of-meddling-by-criticising-treatment-of-jailed-journalists/71471393" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">In response to</a> a January 2024 message from European Union Ambassador to Azerbaijan Peter Michalko, who expressed being “appalled by the reports of denigrating treatment of some of the journalists recently arrested,” Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry spokesman Aykhan Hajizada called his comments “both groundless and irresponsible.”</p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">“Interference in the judiciary of Azerbaijan that was built on best international practices is unacceptable,” he stated.</p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Past statements questioning the legitimacy of certain cases are typically met with affirmations of confidence in the country’s judicial system.</p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Attempts to persuade Azerbaijan’s executive to intervene in the judiciary over political concerns have previously failed. One significant issue that delayed a lasting peace deal between Armenia and Azerbaijan was the detention and trials of Armenian leaders of the separatist state of Nagorno-Karabakh, who were arrested after the fall of the enclave in 2023 and sent to Baku to face terrorism charges. While Armenian officials and mediators sought pardons for the leaders, Baku has maintained that it would be a miscarriage of justice to intervene in the trials.</p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Concerns have also been raised regarding the circumstances of the arrests and conditions in custody of Mehralizada and Guliyeva. Guliyeva alleged that she was beaten during her arrest, that her apartment was ransacked, and that authorities placed over $7,500 as evidence of her alleged crimes. Her pretrial detention has been repeatedly extended, which her supporters claim is intended to prevent her from speaking in a trial.</p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Guliyeva claims she has faced physical and psychological abuse while in detention, including beatings, hair pulling, and threats of sexual violence. She also suffers from health issues, including a head adenoma, and claims that medical care has been denied to her while in detention, worsening her condition.</p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Mehralizada has made similar allegations of abuse, but his trial occurred much sooner, resulting in a nine-year prison sentence. His extended time in custody caused him to miss the birth of his only child.</p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">“For more than two years, our colleague Farid Mehralizada has languished in a prison cell, held on false charges and unjustly separated from his wife and baby,” acting RFE/RL President and CEO Lisa Curtis told the <em>Washington Examiner</em> in a statement. “Farid is being punished for his work as a journalist. Azerbaijani authorities must release him and allow him to return to his family.”</p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Guliyeva had the opportunity to speak in court on Sept. 15, during which she read a <a href="https://ulviyyaali.com/court-statement/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">lengthy statement</a>, personally accusing Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev of ordering her arrest, detailing the facts of her case, and drawing parallels between her own persecution and the Dreyfuss Affair and George Orwell’s <em>1984</em>.</p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Despite her criticisms of the president, an internal VOA document on the matter indicated that it is “widely believed” that Aliyev would order the release of Guliyeva and Mehralizada in exchange for political considerations.</p>