Elnara Gasimova is a freelance journalist working for Abzas Media. 

Gasimova was first questioned as a witness in connection to the Abzas Media case in November 2023. On January 13, 2024, the Baku City Police Department summoned and detained Gasimova on charges of smuggling foreign currency. Initially, Gasimova was summoned as a witness in the ongoing Abzas Media court case. 

On January 15, 2024, the Khatai District Court in Baku remanded Gasimova in custody for two months and seventeen days. Gasimova was brought to and kept in the court handcuffed behind their back in the glass cage. 

Gasimova’s prison conditions raise concerns. The cell where the female detainees are kept at the pre-trial detention center of the Khatai District Police Department is surveilled by the prison authorities via CCTV cameras.

On March 7, 2024, the Khatai District Court extended Gasimova’s pre-trial detention for an additional three months. On July 3, 2024, the Khatai District Court reviewed motions on the transfer to house arrest of Abzas Media journalists. The court denied the motion and left Gasimova under pre-trial detention.

On August 16, 2024, authorities amended the indictment and brought new charges against Gasimova to include illegal entrepreneurship, money laundering, tax evasion, and document forgery.