Free Media Awards 2025
Nargiz Absalamova (Azerbaijan)

She has dedicated herself to covering climate issues, corruption and social rights in particular. She has given a voice to people from vulnerable local communities as well as to women and young people who are victims of discrimination. Her video reports have received millions of views on social media, and they have had a positive impact on civil society. Her camera has been confiscated by the authorities and she has been subjected to police brutality on a number of occasions. On December 1, 2023, Nargiz Absalamova, age 25, was arrested on fabricated charge of currency smuggling. In June 2025 she was sentenced to eight years in prison after she was accused of more aggrevated charges like illegal entrepreneurship, tax evasion and money laundering. As many as nine female journalists have been jailed on financial charges in Azerbaijan in recent months. International media organisations have pointed out that the attacks on female journalists are not gender neutral, but rather an attempt to remove them from public life. This is not simply a warning about freedom of the press in Azerbaijan. Being a woman who works as a journalist in an authoritarian country is both challenging and dangerous.