MUSHFIG JABBAROV
Multimedia journalist, video editor at Toplum TV; worked with RFE/RL; detained on spurious charges.
About Mushfig Jabbarov
Mushfig Jabbarov was born on 22 September 1985. He lived 30 kilometres north-west of Baku, in Sumgayit.
He is a journalist with a background as a video journalist who previously cooperated with RFE/RL’s (Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty) Baku office.
Before his arrest in March 2024, he worked as a video editor at Toplum TV, an independent online media outlet.
Case description
On 6 March 2024, Jabbarov was arrested following the raid on the shared offices of Toplum TV and the Institute of Democratic Initiatives (IDI). While authorities claimed he was arrested during a raid, his wife stated that authorities arrested him on his way to work and subsequently took him back to the flat for a search.1
Following the search of his apartment, police claimed to have found 3,200 euros in his apartment, an amount the family insists was planted by the police. On 8 March 2024, the Khatai District Court remanded him to an initial four-month pre-trial detention on charges of smuggling foreign currency. In the following months, his pre-trial detention was prolonged several times.2
On 17 January 2025, the investigation amended the indictment and added additional charges, including illegal entrepreneurship, large-scale money laundering, tax evasion, and smuggling committed by an organised group. Jabbarov vehemently denied all allegations, maintaining that the case was politically motivated.3
Jabbarov’s arrest had a significant effect on his family. He was the main breadwinner for his ailing father, who has diabetes, high blood pressure, and blindness in one eye, and needs at least $290 a month for medicine. At a court hearing in May 2025, Jabbarov brought up a specific logistical problem with his detention. He cannot get his car back from customs, so he is being fined every month because the authorities will not let his family pick it up.4
On 2 April 2025, the Baku Serious Crimes Court opened a trial in his case. During the preliminary hearing, the court rejected a motion to place him under house arrest. As of January 2026, the trial is ongoing.
References
- https://cpj.org/2024/03/azerbaijani-police-raid-toplum-tv-detain-journalists-over-alleged-currency-smuggling/
- https://fom.coe.int/en/alerte/detail/107640662;globalSearch=false
- https://idi-aze.org/files/pdf/2025-03-09/qUboHYXOzbSI4l3TWlneDtoN3pzsYfe8qvjbR1tZ.pdf
- https://www.eng.kavkaz-uzel.eu/articles/71765
Resources about Mushfig Jabbarov
All of the Campaign’s resources are created under Creative Commons License under CC0 conditions, meaning these resources are public dedication tools, with no copyright, put into the worldwide public domain.
Download blue background poster (PNG)
Download square picture (PNG)
EN 
AZ