ULVIYYA ALI GULIYEVA
Prominent journalist; worked for Voice of America; active on Twitter (X) documenting human rights abuse; imprisoned under bogus charges.
About Ulviyya Guliyeva
Ulviyya Guliyeva, professionally known as Ulviyya Ali, is an Azerbaijani independent journalist and human rights activist. She was born on 13 October 1993 in the Goychay District of Azerbaijan. Her family moved to Baku shortly after her birth, then relocated to Tambov, Russia, where she spent her early childhood before the family returned to Azerbaijan in June 2001.
From a young age, she became involved in socio-political activism. From 2012 to 2016, she was a member of the NIDA Civic Movement. In 2017, she graduated from the “Young Human Rights Defenders” training programme organised by the Institute for Democratic Initiatives (IDI). In 2019, she participated in the prestigious International Visitor Leadership Programme (IVLP) in the United States.
From 2019 to 2025, she worked as a journalist for Voice of America (VoA), where she authored and broadcast over 1,000 news pieces. She has also collaborated with numerous outlets, including RFE/RL, Toplum TV, Mikroskop Media, OC Media, and JAMnews. Her reporting focuses on human rights, social justice, LGBTQ+ rights, women’s rights, and peacebuilding efforts.
For her activism and independent media work, Ulviyya has faced significant state pressure. She was detained multiple times while covering protests, including the “Disarm the Police!” rally in 2013. In 2020, while covering protests, she was subjected to police violence and intimidation, including sustaining minor injuries. In 2021, she was briefly detained by the police; her camera was damaged, and she was insulted while in custody.
After the adoption of the Media Law in 2023, she co-signed a statement protesting the restrictive provisions of the law.
On 15 January 2025, she was summoned and interrogated as a witness in the Meydan TV case and subsequently given an oral travel ban, which she noted was only supposed to apply to defendants. She filed a legal complaint, but the Khatai District Court rejected her complaint on 11 April 2025.
In February 2025, Azerbaijan revoked the journalists’ accreditation of Voice of America. Ali publicly decided to continue her work independently, even without institutional support.
Case description
Ulviyya Ali was detained during the night of 6 to 7 May 2025. Reportedly, police raided her home early in the morning and ransacked it. Law enforcement seized her personal belongings (including her computer) and planted over €6,000 in cash. Her lawyer reported that officers struck her on the head multiple times when she refused to give up her phone password.
In police custody, Ulviyya Ali was reportedly beaten for several hours by security officers, including to the head, and subjected to threats of sexual violence. Following the reported violence, Ulviyya, who has a tumour in her head, vomited repeatedly while held in the police department and the pre-trial detention centre. She filed a complaint with the Republican Prosecutor’s Office regarding the police violence and requested a comprehensive medical examination, including an MRI scan, to check for internal injuries. Her request was rejected.
On 7 May 2025, the Khatai District Court remanded Ulviyya for one month and twenty-nine days. She was charged under Criminal Code Article 206.3.2 (smuggling by a group). She appealed her pre-trial detention, but on 16 May 2025, the Baku Court of Appeal upheld the decision.
She is currently being held at the Baku Pre-trial Detention Centre. Since May 2025, her pre-trial detention has been prolonged several times.
In December 2025, her criminal case was formally sent to the Baku Court for Serious (Grave) Crimes, and trials began in mid-December 2025. During a trial on 12 December 2025, she reported difficulty breathing, highlighting the health and detention-related stress she faced as proceedings continued.
In January 2026, Ulviyya Ali wrote an article from prison about the dire detention conditions and systemic obstruction faced by political prisoners in Azerbaijan.
Resources about Ulviyya Ali
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