As Azerbaijan ramps up attacks on journalists, former VOA reporter is arrested

Author: Devin Windelspecht, MSc

May 16, 2025

HRRC calls for the release of Ulivyya Ali, as well as journalists affiliated with Meydan TV, Toplum TV, and Abzas Media who have been unjustly detained for their independent journalism in Azerbaijan. HRRC also calls on the U.S. Agency for Global Media (USAGM) to evaluate and provide for the safety of foreign journalists who could be targeted for their reporting at USAGM-operated outlets. 

Ulviyya Ali [Image source: JAM News]

An Azerbaijan reporter who formerly worked for Voice of America (VOA) has been arrested, as journalists affiliated with U.S. government-funded international broadcasters come under attack globally. 

Ulviyya Ali, also known as Ulviyya Guliyeva, was arrested on the night of May 7th. She was accused of illegally bringing Western funding into the country, after police searched her apartment and claimed to find more than 6000 euros in cash. She is currently being held in pre-trial detention for a period of up to two months. 

Ali was a contributor for Voice of America in Azerbaijan before the network was defunded by the Trump administration in March. She continued reporting on her personal social media accounts before her arrest. Ali’s apartment was ransacked, her laptop was confiscated and she was beaten during the arrest, according to family members. 

Ali’s detention occurs after she was banned from leaving the country in January on accusations of working with German-based Azerbaijani media outlet Meydan TV, which saw mass arrests of its journalists starting in December 2024 under similar allegations of smuggling foreign currency into the country. Meydan TV, an independent Azerbaijani language broadcaster which was shut down in the country in 2014 and subsequently continued reporting from exile, is the latest target of a crackdown on independent media outlets reporting in the country. 

Meydan TV said that Ali has no connection with the media organization. 

“After arresting ten people in connection with the Meydan TV case, what do the authorities have to gain by arresting an 11th journalist not affiliated with Meydan?” said Meydan TV’s Producer, Matt Kasper. 

“Their actual goal: silencing all independent journalists in Azerbaijan who dare to report the truth, rather than fall in line with the state propaganda narrative.” 

Today, at least 25 journalists have been imprisoned in the country since 2023, making Azerbaijan one of the worst jailers of journalists in the world. 

Ali’s arrest reflects the growing threats to foreign reporters affiliated with outlets operated by USAGM, like VOA and Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL), which were targeted for dismantling by the Trump administration earlier this year. 

Today, foreign-born journalists who worked for VOA, RFE/RL, and Radio Free Asia face greater risks to their safety without the protection and support of the outlets they worked for. At least ten other journalists are currently held behind bars for their work with USAGM media. 

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Glossary 

• Accusations - a claim that someone has done something illegal. 

• Affiliated - connected to a given organization

• Allegations- claims of lawbreaking made without being proven, such as in court.

• Confiscated - seized by authorities, such as police.

• Defunded - taking away money that provides for the operations, salaries, and other necessities of running an organization. 

• Dismantling - removing an organization’s ability to continue operating and laying off or firing most or all of its staff.

• Exile - being forced from one’s country, often under threat of imprisonment or harm.

• Independent Media – media whose reporting is not influenced by a given government, business, or other external party. 

• Pre-trial detention - a period of time an individual accused of a crime is held in custody before their appointed court date. 

• Propaganda - information specifically intended to influence public opinion and often not based in facts, usually to support the ruling government of a country. 

• Ransacked – severely damaged, often in a haphazard way.