Sevinj Vagifgizi

Sevinj Vagifgizi (full name: Sevinj Vagif gizi Abbasova, Azerbaijani: Sevinc Vaqifqızı Abbasova; born; July 5, 1989, Fuzuli District) is an Azerbaijani journalist and political prisoner . Since September 2022, she has served as the editor-in-chief of the media platform Abzas Media.

A number of local and international human rights organizations condemned the arrest of Sevinj Vagifgizi, describing it as politically motivated, and called on the Azerbaijani authorities to immediately release her.

From November 2023 to September 2025, she was held at the Baku Pre-trial detention Center in Zabrat. Since September 2025, she has been serving her sentence at the Lankaran Penitentiary Complex in the city of Lankaran.

Early life Sevinj Vagif gizi Abbasova was born on July 5ç 1989 in the Fuzuli District. Following the occupation of the Fizuli District during the First Nagorno-Karabakh War in August 1993, she and her family became internally displaced persons and settled in Baku.

In May 2017, she was detained while performing her professional duties and released after several hours at Police Station No. 39 of the Sabail District Police Department.

In January 2019, she was again detained during her journalistic work and released after more than ten hours in custody at Police Station No. 24 of the Nizami District Police Department. She later stated that police prevented doctors from providing her with X-ray results when she sought medical examination. She filed a complaint with the Prosecutor General's Office requesting an investigation into the incident. Reporters Without Borders condemned the incident and stated that the Azerbaijani government had destroyed pluralism.

She also conducted investigative journalism in cooperation with the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP). , Sevinj Vagifgizi was questioned as a witness by the Serious Crimes Investigation Department of the Prosecutor General's Office. According to her account, the questioning initially concerned events in Mingachevir, specifically who filmed and disseminated footage showing the body of Bahruz Hajiyev, who died in the Mingachevir city police department. The questioning later focused on the leadership, staff, activities, and finances of Meydan TV.

On the night of September 20, 2015, Sevinj Vagifgizi, along with journalists Aytan Farhadova and Izolda Aghayeva, was detained at the airport and taken to the Main Department for Combating Organized Crime of the Ministry of Internal Affairs. An official record was drawn up, and they were informed that they were banned from leaving the country. They were released the following morning after further questioning.

She was questioned again on September 22, 2015, and several times thereafter in connection with the same case.

Numerous local and international human rights organizations, including Human Rights Watch, Reporters Without Borders, and Amnesty International, criticized the interrogation of independent journalists by the Main Department for Combating Organized Crime.

Between 2015 and 2019, Sevinj Vagifgizi was banned from leaving Azerbaijan.

Arrest

On November 20, 2023, CEO of Abzas Media – Ulvi Hasanli was detained near his home while heading to the airport to travel abroad.

On the night of November 20–21, the editor-in-chief of Abzas Media Sevinj Vagifgizi returned to Azerbaijan from Istanbul, knowing that she would be arrested. She was detained by police at Heydar Aliyev International Airport. On the same day, a search was carried out in her apartment. Lawyer Elchin Sadigov, who defended the rights of Sevinj Vagifgizi, stated that no illegal items were found during the search. However, a criminal case was opened against her under Article 206.3.2 of the Criminal Code (smuggling – committed by a group of persons by prior conspiracy). On November 21, Sevinj Vagifgizi was sentenced by the Khatai District Court to 3 months and 29 days of pre-trial detention.

On June 20, 2025, the court sentenced her to nine years of imprisonment. Appeals were rejected, and the sentence was upheld.

International reaction International human rights organizations such as Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch (HRW), Reporters Without Borders (RSF), Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), the European Federation of Journalists, the Norwegian Helsinki Committee, the Steering Committee of the Civil Society Forum of the Eastern Partnership and Freedom Now, as well as the US State Department condemned the arrest of Sevinj Vagifgizi. They called on the Azerbaijani authorities to immediately release her.