Ulvi Hasanli is a human rights activist, journalist, and the director of Abzas Media (since 2016). He worked on a journalist investigation of Azerbaijani government corruption and nepotism. In the past, he led several pro-democracy youth organizations, including Dalga, the Free Youth Movement, and the NIDA youth movement, aiming to promote democratic and social reforms. Abzas Media was subjected to numerous denial-of-service attacks (DDoS), a cyberattack where a site is blocked for public access. In 2017, the website was blocked domestically, forcing the website managers to switch the website’s extension. In April 2020, the website was hacked and, as a result, lost a month’s worth of published articles, and some of the articles’ headlines were tampered with. The platform was targeted again in February 2021.

On November 20, 2023, Hasanli was supposed to travel abroad and left his house with a suitcase. However, he did not take his flight, according to others on the plane. Later that day, it was confirmed that the Baku City Chief Police Department arrested Hasanli on his way to the airport, and police had search warrants on both Hasanli’s home and the offices of Abzas Media. Allegedly, during the arrest, Hasanli was beaten. 

Azerbaijani authorities filed charges against Hasanli for conspiring to smuggle foreign currency According to local sources, Hasanli is being held in pre-trial detention with no access to phone calls or family visits. When Hasanli complained, prison officials threatened him with reprisal. In January 2024, a court ordered his mother’s social security pension to be frozen.

On March 14, 2024, the Khatai District Court prolonged his pre-trial detention for three months. On July 3, 2024, the court reviewed motions on the transfer to house arrest of Abzas Media journalists. The court denied the motion and left Hasanli under pre-trial detention until September 2024.

On July 31, 2024, Hasanli reported that prisoners in Baku's Pre-Trial Detention Center N1, where he is held, experienced severe torture and ill-treatment. Within the first six months of his placement, he documented 58 incidents of torture and inhumane treatment. According to Hasanli, detainees are subjected to beatings, being handcuffed hanging upside down from iron bars, lying on the concrete floor for hours, and other forms of physical and psychological torture.

On August 17, 2024, authorities amended the indictment and brought new charges against Hasanli. In addition to smuggling foreign currency, he is facing charges of illegal entrepreneurship, money laundering, tax evasion, and document forgery.

On August 21, 2024, Hasanli's wife, Rubaba Guliyeva, voiced concern for her husband's safety. Hasanli alleges that a fellow prisoner in his cell repeatedly assaulted and threatened him with a razor allegedly under the orders of Baku Detention Center head Elnur Ismayilov. The threats followed Hasanli's letter from the pre-trial detention center, in which he revealed instances of prisoner torture and mistreatment.

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