Shamo Eminov, a reporter for online broadcaster Kanal 13, has been detained since December 2023 on charges of conspiracy to smuggle currency in relation to alleged receipt of Western donor funding.
Eminov is one of at least 16 journalists and media workers – 15 of whom CPJ reported on in November and one whose case we confirmed in mid-December – charged with serious crimes between late 2023 and December 1, 2024, in a major crackdown on the independent press and civil society in Azerbaijan.
In late November 2023, police arrested Kanal 13 director Aziz Orujov on allegations of illegal construction. His detention came amid the arrests of four members of anti-corruption investigative outlet Abzas Media on currency smuggling charges over alleged Western funding.
On December 19, investigators brought new charges of conspiracy to smuggle currency against Orujov. Three days later, police arrested Eminov on the same charges.
As of December 1, 2024, Orujov, Eminov, and other “unknown” individuals were facing allegations from investigators that they brought cash from foreign donor organizations into Azerbaijan through “numerous transactions” during 2022 and 2023, according to court documents reviewed by CPJ. The journalists deny the allegations.
If found guilty, they face up to eight years in prison under Azerbaijan’s criminal code.
Kanal 13 has more than 2 million subscribers on its YouTube channels. It regularly covers human rights violations, gives space to opposition views, and reports extensively on Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
Days before authorities brought new charges against Kanal 13, on December 11, an Azerbaijani court ordered Kanal 13’s YouTube channel blocked on the grounds that the outlet spread “false,” “insulting,” and “discrediting” information about state officials and others.
Kanal 13 is one of three major outlets – including Abzas Media and Toplum TV – from among Azerbaijan’s last remaining independent media targeted over alleged receipt of Western donor money between late 2023 and December 1, 2024.
The crackdown has been linked to a decline in Azerbaijani-Western relations following Azerbaijan’s September 2023 military recapture of Nagorno-Karabakh, which led to the displacement of the region’s 100,000 ethnic Armenians.
As of early December 2024, Eminov remains in Baku Pretrial Detention Center, Anar Orujov, founder of Kanal 13 and brother of Aziz Orujov, told CPJ. Eminov has suffered multiple health issues and spent a large part of his detention in the jail hospital, Anar Orujov said, including liver and stomach ailments and severe anxiety and depression over his detention.
CPJ emailed the Penitentiary Service of Azerbaijan for comment on Eminov's health in late November 2024, but did not receive a reply.