US media organisations and government officials are calling for the release of Azerbaijani journalists Ulviyya Ali and Farid Mehralizada as the Trump administration seeks closer ties with Azerbaijan.

Ali worked for the US-funded Voice of America. She was arrested in May 2025 as part of the Meydan TV case. Ali denies the charges and says she was targeted because of her journalistic work.

Mehralizada is an economist and journalist who worked for RFE/RL, was detained in May 2024. He was sentenced to nine years in prison after being convicted of currency smuggling, illegal entrepreneurship, money laundering, tax evasion, and document forgery. His sentence was handed down as part of the case against independent media outlet Abzas Media.

Seven people in the case against Abzas Media have been charged with currency smuggling, money laundering, tax evasion, and document forgery, while 12 people in the Meydan TV case face similar smuggling and financial crime charges. The defendants have said the charges are directly linked to their journalistic activities.

The imprisonment of the two journalists, along with allegations that they were mistreated in detention, has brought together several US-based groups supporting their release.  The group includes current and former employees of Voice of America, RFE/RL, and MediaSafe, a journalist safety organisation based in Virginia and led by Eric Phillips.

Voice of America Deputy Director Chris Wallace told Washington DC based outlet Washington Examiner that the aim is to demonstrate solidarity among US government institutions in efforts to help Ali and Mehralizada .

The working group has also helped develop strategies aimed at increasing the chances of the journalists being released. According to an internal Voice of America document, both Ali and Mehralizada have agreed to leave Azerbaijan if they are released, a step supported by the working group.

Michael Rigas, the acting head of the US Agency for Global Media (USAGM), told the Washington Examiner that the agency is using diplomatic, legal, and public advocacy channels to seek the release of journalists detained in Azerbaijan and elsewhere, including Ali and Mehralizada.

According to a source cited by the newspaper, the co-chairs of the Azerbaijan Caucus in the US House of Representatives, Steve Cohen, a Democrat from Tennessee, and Robert Aderholt, a Republican from Alabama, wrote to Azerbaijan’s Ambassador to the US, Khazar Ibrahim, last month. They reportedly asked him to state his position on the issue and express concern over the journalists’ imprisonment.

The White House, which has sought to develop relations with Azerbaijan, is also said to have taken the issue into account. According to RFE/RL, Vice President JD Vance raised the detention of the two journalists during his visit to Baku earlier this year. Despite international pressure, Baku has so far sent no positive signal on the issue.

‘They are completely silent’, MediaSafe’s Phillips told the Washington Examiner when asked about Baku’s response.

The newspaper reported that while the Azerbaijani government did not directly respond to questions about Ali and Mehralizada, it has described international criticism over the prosecution of journalists as ‘both unfounded and irresponsible’.

US President Donald Trump’s policies on Azerbaijan differed from his predecessor’s.

During Joe Biden’s presidency, Washington repeatedly expressed concern over Azerbaijan’s handling of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, including its final assault on the region, its blockade of the Lachin corridor, and pressure on journalists and government critics in the country. The Trump administration has placed greater emphasis on strengthening ties with Baku, including through security and economic cooperation and high-level engagement. The administration has also moved to ease restrictions under Section 907, which has long been a point of contention in US–Azerbaijan relations.

The Azerbaijani government, meanwhile, has linked the deterioration in relations to Washington’s policies on Nagorno-Karabakh and its criticism of human rights, as well as the application of Section 907 of the Freedom Support Act.

Since November 2023, more than 30 journalists and civil society activists have been arrested in Azerbaijan in a series of cases involving alleged smuggling. According to lists compiled by local human rights organisations, 328 journalists, politicians, and activists are currently being held in Azerbaijani prisons.