Meydan TV

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Meydan TV is a Berlin-based Azerbaijani non-profit media organization. It was started in 2013 by Emin Milli, a dissident blogger and former political prisoner. The outlet publishes in Azerbaijani, English, and Russian, and in May 2013 it announced plans to broadcast via the Turkish Türksat satellite. The word “meydan” means town square in Azerbaijani. Meydan TV is known for reporting on corruption and human rights abuses in Azerbaijan and has faced pressure from the ruling Aliyev regime. Its reporting has been used by international media, especially during the 2015 European Games in Baku, when several reporters and foreign observers were blocked from entering the country. The organization works with the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP), and some of its reports have received support from the European Endowment for Democracy (EED).

Meydan TV gained attention for its investigations into corruption and rights issues in Azerbaijan. In 2015, Lider TV aired a controversial piece, but Meydan TV identified the interviewee as Seymur Seferov, a displaced Azerbaijani citizen, after which the clip spread widely online. That year, several Meydan TV journalists faced legal trouble, travel bans, or arrests, including Aynura Ismayil, Shirin Abbasov, Ayten Farhadova, and Aysel Umudova. Azerbaijani official statements, such as those by Ali Hasanov, claimed Meydan TV did not follow accreditation rules for foreign media.

In 2016, Haqqin.az accused Meydan TV of inflating Armenian casualty figures during the Armenian–Azerbaijani clashes; Meydan TV had listed 94 deaths while the official count was lower, and Haqqin.az questioned the accuracy of one listed soldier’s status. Reporters Without Borders said in late 2023 that President Ilham Aliyev had launched a new wave of repression against the country’s journalists. In December 2024, Meydan TV’s newsroom was detained, and six journalists, including Aysel Umudova and Khayala Aghayeva, were arrested in what is known as the “Meydan TV case.” The jailed journalists maintain their innocence, with human rights defenders calling them political prisoners.