ƏLİ ZEYNALOV
İctimai fəal və video yaradıcı, müstəqil media və gənc jurnalistlərlə bağlı proqramlarda çalışıb, hazırda mübahisəli qaçaqmalçılıq ittihamları ilə həbsdədir.
About Ali Zeynalov
After graduating from Azerbaijan University with a degree in Computer Engineering, he joined the NIDA Civic Movement in 2016. At the same time, he participated in the “Young Journalists” program organised by the Institute for Democratic Initiatives. Ali Zeynalov graduated from the program’s first cohort. Later, he took part in many training courses abroad on creative video production. He was also involved in similar training as a mentor in Kyrgyzstan and Georgia, teaching young journalists and bloggers how to produce short videos in this field.
Before his arrest, Ali Zeynalov coordinated the “Young Journalists” program at the Institute for Democratic Initiatives.
Case description
Ali Zeynalov was arrested in March 2024 as part of a government crackdown on independent media, Toplum TV. The legal proceedings against him began with a police raid on the shared offices of Toplum TV on March 6, 2024. He was detained the same day, and authorities claimed to have found €10,150 and $9,060 during a search of his home, leading to charges of smuggling foreign currency. According to reports, the search and arrest were conducted without a court order.
On March 8, 2024, a court ordered him into four months of pre-trial detention. His detention was repeatedly extended, including on July 3, 2024, October 3, 2024, and December 27, 2024. On January 17, 2025, prosecutors intensified the charges against Zeynalov, adding new counts of illegal entrepreneurship, large-scale money laundering, and tax evasion.
While in detention, he has faced significant mistreatment and alleged torture.
According to his lawyer, Fariz Namazli, Zeynal was subjected to violence and degrading treatment by police, including being beaten and threatened with sexual assault to coerce him into providing his computer password. His complaint about the torture to the Prosecutor General’s Office was rejected. Both the Sabail District Court and the Baku Court of Appeal have upheld this decision, refusing to launch an investigation into the allegations of police violence.
In a letter from the Baku Pre-trial Detention Facility, Zeynalov detailed poor conditions, including a lack of sanitation and pest infestations. He also claimed that a Ministry of Justice inspection was “staged” to conceal the prison conditions.
In July 2025, the Baku Court on Grave Crimes opened a trial hearing into Toplum TV’s case. On 25 April 2025, it was reported that he was placed in solitary confinement and stripped of his phone call privileges after objecting to the prosecutor during a court hearing.
As of October 2025, the trial is ongoing.
Resources about Ali Zeynalov
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