Europe’s energy hunger blinds it to Baku’s crackdown on journalists

President Ilham Aliyev, who once famously declared that independent media does not exist, has successfully transformed his country into one of the most hostile environments for reporting globally. The European Union’s pivot toward Azerbaijan—marked by high-level visits and strategic energy agreements—has largely ignored these abuses. Despite the EU’s vocal condemnation of similar press freedom records in Russia and Iran, officials have opted for vague calls for "candid dialogue" in Baku, effectively prioritizing gas flows over human rights.

Behind this diplomatic silence lies the reality of the crackdown. Sevinj Vagifgizi, editor-in-chief of the investigative outlet Abzas Media, is currently serving a nine-year sentence for exposing corruption networks linked to the Aliyev family. From within the walls of Lankaran prison and other detention centers, she and her colleagues continue to document a harrowing pattern of state-sponsored violence. Reports smuggled out of these facilities detail routine torture, medical neglect, and sexual harassment. These journalists, now acting as witnesses to their own persecution, have revealed that the regime’s stability is built on the systematic dismantling of independent civil society. By choosing to overlook these arrests, European leaders risk legitimizing a state that not only suppresses its citizens but also facilitates the movement of Russia’s shadow tanker fleet, undermining the very sanctions intended to curb the war in Ukraine.