Sevinj Vagifgizi

Sevinj Vagifgizi (full name: Sevinj Vagif gizi Abbasova, Azerbaijani: Sevinc Vaqifqızı Abbasova; born; July 5, 1989, Fuzuli District) — Azerbaijani journalist and political prisoner. Since September 2022, she has served as the editor-in-chief of the media platform Abzas Media.

She has been active in journalism since 2009. Over the course of her career, she has worked with the newspapers Bizim Yol and Azadlıq, the television channel Meydan TV, and the media platform Abzas Media. Throughout her professional career, she has repeatedly faced persecution. In 2015, a criminal investigation was launched against several executives of Meydan TV, during which she was questioned and banned from leaving the country for four years. In 2020, the European Court of Human Rights ruled that this travel ban was unlawful.

Sevinj Vagifgizi was in Istanbul, Turkey, on 20 November 2023, the day when the director of Abzas Media, Ulvi Hasanli, was subjected to criminal prosecution. Despite being aware of her impending arrest, she returned to Baku on the evening of 21 November 2023. She was detained by police at Heydar Aliyev International Airport and taken to the Main Police Department of Baku. After being questioned, she was charged under Article 206.3.2 of the Criminal Code of Azerbaijan (smuggling committed by a group of persons). On 21 November 2023, she was arrested by a decision of the Khatai District Court. On 16 August 2024, the charges in the criminal case under investigation by the Main Police Department of Baku were aggravated. Sevinj Vagifgizi and other defendants were charged under seven articles of the Criminal Code, including Articles 192.3.2, 193-1.3.1, 193-1.3.2, 206.4, 320.1, and 320.2. These charges included illegal entrepreneurship resulting in large-scale income; money laundering committed by an organized group; smuggling committed by an organized group; forgery of documents; and the use of forged documents.

A number of local and international human rights organizations condemned the arrest of Sevinj Vagifgizi, describing it as politically motivated, and called on the Azerbaijani authorities to immediately release her.

On 20 June 2025, the Baku Serious Crimes Court sentenced her to nine years of imprisonment.

From November 2023 to September 2025, she was held at the Baku Pre-Trial Detention Center in Zabrat. Since September 2025, she has been serving her sentence at the Lankaran Penitentiary Complex in the city of Lankaran.