{"id":337536,"date":"2025-11-16T16:37:43","date_gmt":"2025-11-16T12:37:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.meydan.tv\/article\/sevinc-vaqifqizi-rsf-nin-c%c9%99sar%c9%99t-mukafatina-layiq-gorulub\/"},"modified":"2025-11-17T19:17:57","modified_gmt":"2025-11-17T15:17:57","slug":"sevinj-vagifgizi-awarded-rsfs-courage-prize","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.meydan.tv\/en\/article\/sevinj-vagifgizi-awarded-rsfs-courage-prize\/","title":{"rendered":"Sevinj Vagifgizi awarded RSF\u2019s \u201cCourage Prize\u201d"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>Sevinj Vagifgizi, the imprisoned editor-in-chief of Abzas Media, has won the \u201cCourage Prize\u201d of the \u201cPress Freedom Awards\u201d established by Reporters Without Borders (RSF).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>RSF\u2019s 33rd Press Freedom Awards were presented on November 15 at the organization\u2019s 40th-anniversary festival held in Paris.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>At the event, along with Sevinj Vagifgizi, Palestinian journalist Bisan Owda (Impact Prize), Myanmar journalist Shin Daeve (Independence Prize), Burkinab\u00e9 journalist Atiana Serge Oulon (the \u201cMohamed Ma\u00efga\u201d award for investigative journalism in Africa) and French photojournalist Robin T\u00fctenjes (Lucas Dolega\u2013SAIF Photo Award) were also honored.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The award given to Sevinj Vagifgizi was accepted on her behalf by Abzas Media\u2019s director, Gunel Safarova. She also read out a letter from the editor-in-chief addressed to the ceremony\u2019s participants.<br><br>RSF described Sevinj Vagifgizi as \u201ca symbol of dignity and hope for her commitment to principles, her persistence in refusing to be silenced despite pressure, and her resilience in the face of injustice.\u201d<br>The organization\u2019s statement said that these journalists are symbols of courage and independence:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>\u201cThrough these awards, we recognize journalists who defend the truth with unwavering dedication to their work and to journalism, despite bombings, censorship, and imprisonment. They are symbols of courage and independence. Let us applaud them, amplify their voices, and share their work.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Sevinj Vagifgizi is currently one of seven people imprisoned in the \u201cAbzas Media case.<br><br>In June 2025, the Baku Serious Crimes Court sentenced her and the organization\u2019s director Ulvi Hasanli, investigative journalist Hafiz Babali, and economist Farid Mehralizada to 9 years in prison; reporters Nargiz Absalamova and Elnara Gasimova to 8 years; and deputy director Mahammad Kekalov to 7 years and 6 months.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>According to the court verdict, Sevinj Vagifgizi and the other journalists were found guilty of smuggling and several other charges.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>However, they reject the accusations, asserting that their arrests are connected to corruption investigations they conducted at Abzas Media and that the charges are politically motivated.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Sevinj Vagifgizi, the imprisoned editor-in-chief of Abzas Media, has won &#8230; <\/p>\n<p class=\"read-more-container\"><a title=\"Sevinj Vagifgizi awarded RSF\u2019s \u201cCourage Prize\u201d\" class=\"read-more button\" href=\"https:\/\/www.meydan.tv\/en\/article\/sevinj-vagifgizi-awarded-rsfs-courage-prize\/#more-337536\" aria-label=\"Read more about Sevinj Vagifgizi awarded RSF\u2019s \u201cCourage Prize\u201d\">Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":24,"featured_media":337524,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_sitemap_exclude":false,"_sitemap_priority":"","_sitemap_frequency":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[80,37],"tags":[175,125,147,144],"class_list":["post-337536","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-featured-en","category-news","tag-abzasmedia","tag-azerbaijan","tag-government-repression","tag-press-freedom","infinite-scroll-item","generate-columns","tablet-grid-50","mobile-grid-100","grid-parent","grid-33","no-featured-image-padding"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.6 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Sevinj Vagifgizi awarded RSF\u2019s \u201cCourage Prize\u201d - MEYDAN.TV<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.meydan.tv\/en\/article\/sevinj-vagifgizi-awarded-rsfs-courage-prize\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Sevinj Vagifgizi awarded RSF\u2019s \u201cCourage Prize\u201d - MEYDAN.TV\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Sevinj Vagifgizi, the imprisoned editor-in-chief of Abzas Media, has won ... 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