Free Media Awards
2016
Seymur Hazi - Azerbaijan
Seymur Hazi has reported on corruption and the abuse of power in his native country and, as a result, he has experienced threats and suffered brutal physical abuse.
Seymur Hazi (b. 1982) is editor and commentator in the newspaper Azadlig, Baku, Azerbaijan, and reporter for the TV channel Azerbaijani Hour, based in Turkey.
He has been imprisoned in Azerbaijan since August 2014, and legal processes against him on a charge of ‘hooliganism’ began recently.
Seymur Hazi was nominated by Shahvalad Chobanoglu, Zamin Haji, Natiq Javadli, Mehman Huseynov, Tahmina Tagizade and Khadija Ismayilova. The latter is also imprisoned in Azerbaijan. The Henrich Böll Foundation’s department for South Caucasus and the Norwegian Helsinki Committee also nominated Hazi.