Human rights defenders condemned the pressure on the mother of the journalist from Meydan TV.
The international human rights organization Freedom Now condemned the use of physical force against Dilruba Amanova, the mother of the accused in the case of Meydan TV journalist Aytaj Tapdyg, and called on the Azerbaijani authorities to stop pressuring the relatives of political prisoners.
As reported by "Caucasian Knot", the Azerbaijani authorities banned the mother of the arrested journalist from Meydan TV, Aytaj Tapdyg, Dilruba Amanova, from leaving the country. The woman was twice prevented from flying out of Azerbaijan, although after the first attempt, the security forces assured that the ban had been lifted.
The case of Meydan TV was initiated in December 2024. By August 2025, 12 people had been arrested. On December 12, 2025, at the first hearing in the Meydan TV case, the Baku court refused to close the criminal case and release the accused. On May 1, the arrested journalists in the Meydan TV case staged a protest in court, chanting slogans in defense of freedom of speech. On May 22, the hearing in the Meydan TV case was disrupted after journalist Khayala Agaeva spoke out about the political motives behind the persecution of the publication's staff and reminded about corruption scandals involving Azerbaijani politicians. In Azerbaijan, the composition of judges in the Meydan TV case has been completely replaced. Lawyers believe that this may lead to a renewal of the judicial investigation. On July 3, the proceedings in the Meydan TV case resumed after the change of judges. The defendants reported procedural violations, the defense petitioned for a milder measure of restraint and drew attention to the health condition of the accused, but the court rejected these requests. The court also began a new judicial investigation and continued interrogations.
The international human rights organization Freedom Now condemned the physical pressure exerted in the courtroom on the mother of the accused in the case of Meydan TV journalist Aytaj Tapdyg (Akmedova).
“We are deeply concerned about reports of physical violence last week in the courtroom against the mother of journalist Aytaj Tapdyg, Dilruba Amanova. We call on the Azerbaijani authorities to put an end to the pressure and threats against the family members of political prisoners,” the organization stated in a publication on social media X.
The incident occurred on July 24 during a court session when Amanova was subjected to physical pressure by a staff member of the Penitentiary Service. “When the court session ended, I, like other parents, went to the front rows to say goodbye to my daughter. At that moment, I felt someone indecently grabbed me under my left arm and started pulling me towards the exit,” the woman told a correspondent from “Caucasian Knot.”
According to her, the penitentiary service officer pushed her towards the exit and demanded that she leave the building quickly, shouting: “Get out.” She considered what happened to her a “planned dirty provocation” following the illegal ban on her leaving the country. Amanova stated that she would file a complaint with the relevant authorities.
She reminded that both she and her daughter, as well as other journalists, had been subjected to physical pressure and threats while in custody.
Recall that in February, journalists from Meydan TV Aytaj Tapdyg, Aysel Umudova, and Khayala Agaeva demanded an investigation into the violence against them in the Baku pre-trial detention center and punishment for the security forces. In April, the Penitentiary Service of Azerbaijan responded to the complaint from Aytaj Tapdyg's relatives, stating that the detention center staff did not use violence against the journalist.