Sevinj Vagifgizi is an Azerbaijani reporter and journalist. She previously worked as a correspondent for the Berlin-based, Azerbaijan-focused independent media outlet Meydan TV. From 2015 to 2019, Vagifgizi was barred from leaving the country when authorities informed her that Meydan TV was being investigated in a criminal case. In 2019, she faced libel accusations after reporting on people voting with government-issued prefilled ballots. From 2019 to 2021, she was targeted by the Pegasus spyware. In 2022, Vagifgizi became the editor-in-chief of the independent media platform Abzas 0Media. 

On November 21, 2023, Azerbaijani authorities arrested Vagifgizi, who was en route to Baku on a flight from Istanbul. Several eyewitness Azerbaijani activists told Meydan TV she was detained once the plane landed in Azerbaijan. Authorities took Vagifgizi to the Main Police Department of Baku city. She was charged with conspiring to smuggle foreign currency and placed under four months of pre-trial detention. 

On November 25, 2023, the investigation banned phone calls and visits with the family and restricted phone calls with the lawyer. The Khatai District Court blocked her bank accounts and cards for pension payments and salaries and issued a decision regarding inspecting bank accounts and taxes. The bank also blocked her mother’s pension account by barring the elderly woman from receiving the pension.

On March 14, 2024, the Khatai District Court of Baku prolonged her pre-trial detention for two months and twenty-nine days. Vagifgizi has complained about her prison conditions, citing a lack of heating in the cold and leaking water from a heater that covered her cell floor.  

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 Vagifgizi in pre-trial detention until September 2024.

On August 17, 2024, authorities amended the indictment and brought new charges against Vagifgizi including illegal entrepreneurship, money laundering, tax evasion, and document forgery.

The Khatai District Court extended the pre-trial detention of Vagifgizi for an additional three months on September 7, 2024. As of September 10, 2024, authorities concluded the preliminary investigation. After her defense studies the case materials, it would be forwarded to court.