Fatima Movlamli went on a hunger strike in pretrial detention.

Journalist Fatima Movlamli, arrested in the Meydan TV case, has declared a hunger strike in protest against the ban on in-person meetings between her and her colleagues and their families.

As the Caucasian Knot reported on the eve of March 8, the global organization defending the press drew attention to the plight of nine female journalists imprisoned in Azerbaijan. It demanded the release of the journalists.

On March 8, Fatima Movlamli announced a hunger strike against the ban on journalists arrested in the Meydan TV case from meeting with their loved ones, her mother, Vusalya Movlanova, told a Caucasian Knot correspondent.

According to her, Movlamli and her colleagues have been banned from meeting with their loved ones in person for the past two weeks in Baku's Pretrial Detention Center No. 1, and visits are permitted only through a glass partition.

In protest, Movlamli announced a hunger strike, timing the start of the action to coincide with March 8, International Women's Day.

"Fatima has announced a hunger strike starting today (March 8). She has removed all her food from her cell. Fatima intends to refuse food until her rights to public meetings are satisfied. "Responsibility for my daughter's health and safety rests with the pretrial detention center's management," Movlanova said. As one Baku activist explained in a conversation with a Caucasian Knot correspondent, pressure on the arrested Meydan TV journalists began in mid-February after they began demanding their rights to a defense during the trial, including permission to sit next to their lawyers, and criticizing the judges' bias.

09:08 19.02.2026

Arrested Meydan TV employees complain of violence in pretrial detention

Meydan TV journalists Aytaj Tapdyg, Aysel Umudova, and Khayala Agayeva complained of violence against them due to the publicity surrounding a report on their violation of courtroom order and their refusal to testify.

"After this, so-called 'shakedowns' were conducted in the journalists' cells. Some of them, including Aysel Umudova, Aytaj Tapdyg, Khayala Agayeva, and Ulviya Ali, were subjected to threats and psychological and physical pressure. Furthermore, in retaliation, they were banned from meeting with their loved ones in person. They were allowed to meet through glass partitions. However, they communicate during their visits by telephone, and their conversations are monitored," the activist explained.

The Penitentiary Service could not be reached for comment.

Azerbaijan is among the European countries with the highest level of criminal prosecution of journalists. Of the 148 journalists held in prison at the end of 2025, 36 were in Azerbaijan, the Council of Europe Platform for the Protection of Journalism and the Safety of Journalists stated on March 3.

Journalists from other media outlets, including Meydan TV, Toplum TV, and Kanal-13, have also been persecuted in Azerbaijan. Details have been compiled by the "Caucasian Knot" in the report "Serial Arrests of Journalists in Azerbaijan".