Nargiz Absalamova is a journalist in Azerbaijan, who was arrested in December 2023 under bogus charges in retaliation for her work covering environmental protests. She and several of her colleagues at Abzas, one of the few independent media organizations in the country, are among the many people arbitrarily detained amid a growing crackdown on dissent in Azerbaijan.
Nargiz is still in pretrial detention but was able to tell the story of her work in Soyudlu, a village heavily impacted by a nearby gold mine. She speaks about how independent, fact-based journalism plays a vital role in a protecting civil society and can even help protect protesters from police violence.
When I first heard about residents in Soyudlu protesting against plans to create yet another waste lake that would pollute their village, I knew it was important for me to go and cover the story.
I saw disturbing scenes in videos on social media from the protests. Police officers fired tear gas at close range toward elderly women at the front of the protests, beat demonstrators with batons, kicked them, and used rubber bullets.
The villagers had no other platform to express their grievances, as there is no independent media presence in Soyudlu. State-controlled outlets simpliy ignored the protests altogether.
Blocking the road to Soyudlu
As residents continued to speak out, they exposed the officials’ unlawful actions. This fuelled public anger and gained the attention of lawyers, civil society members, and politically active youth from the capital who voiced their support of the protests and attempted to visit the village. Their goal was to demand accountability from the Ministry of Ecology and Natural Resources, local authorities, and law enforcement for enabling the illegal activities of the mining company.
In response, the government closed all roads leading to Soyudlu to stifle these conversations and silence the residents. The hope was that, without media presence or “undesirable” visitors, the issue would fall from public attention, and the protests would fade away.
Uncovering the truth
As one of the few independent news organizations still operating in Azerbaijan, my team and I at Abzas Media decided to visit the village to cover the demands of the residents and investigate the mining company’s actions.
Our findings confirmed that the waste lake operated by the gold mining company contained dangerous levels of cyanide. After we exposed this, authorities shut down access to the village the very next day. Protesters were surrounded, and several were arrested on dubious “drug” charges, a clear attempt by the government to silence those demanding their legal rights.
We managed to enter the village secretly, reporting on the abuses that authorities tried to keep hidden. We believed that, without media coverage, the people of Soyudlu would face increased police brutality and unlawful detentions.
The impact of covering the protests
In the past, similar environmental protests – such as those in Dashkasan and Saatli Districts – were met with police violence, including rubber bullets and mass arrests. In those instances, the media’s inability to adequately highlight the residents’ concerns allowed the issues to be swept under the rug without resolution.
This time, we prioritized amplifying the voices of Soyudlu’s residents, advocating for their right to live in a safe environment and exercise their freedom of assembly. We could not stand by while our citizens, fighting for their legal rights, were silenced by an authoritarian government.
Following the protests, President Ilham Aliyev convened an emergency cabinet meeting, praising the police for their actions in the village and warning that future protests would be punished. However, he also ordered the temporary suspension of the waste lake’s construction pending further investigation.
We believe this was the result of independent media standing with the people of Soyudlu and amplifying their voices.