RFE/RL Journalist Farid Mehralizada Sentenced to Nine Years in Prison in Azerbaijan

20 June 2025

RFE/RL Journalist Farid Mehralizada Sentenced to Nine Years in Prison in Azerbaijan

Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) called the case against Farid a “sham.”

An Azerbaijani court convicted and sentenced Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) journalist and economist Farid Mehralizada to nine years in prison on spurious charges on 20 June 2025.

In a speech before the court, Farid defended his innocence and the importance of a free press in Azerbaijan:

“Independent media is one of the greatest means of service to the state, the nation, and humanity. Unfortunately, journalism in our country today is almost equated with terrorism.”

Farid has been detained since May 30, 2024, when he was violently abducted in Baku by unidentified men and taken to a police station. He was initially charged with “conspiring to smuggle foreign currency” in connection with a case authorities brought against the independent media outlet Abzas Media, for which Farid never worked. On August 19, 2024, authorities invented new charges against him.

RFE/RL President and CEO Stephen Capus said: “Farid has already lost a great deal. Unjustifiably detained for more than a year, he missed the birth of his child, and now waits for elusive justice. Denying this man his fundamental rights is unnecessarily cruel. Instead of perpetuating this sham, it’s time to reunite Farid with his family.”

Increasing restrictions on journalists in Azerbaijan have put significant pressure on RFE/RL’s Azerbaijani Service. Its Baku bureau was forced to shut down in 2014 and its website was blocked in 2017. Azerbaijani Service journalists have been the targets of intimidation campaigns and physical violence.

As conflict grows, so do audiences to threatened US international broadcasters

18 June 2025

As conflict grows, so do audiences to threatened US international broadcasters

US-funded media organisations Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) and Middle East Broadcasting Networks (MBN) are bringing millions of people in Iran and across the Middle East real-time, 24/7 news coverage of the war between Israel and Iran.

As fighting began over the weekend, Iranians surged to RFE/RL’s Persian-language Service, Radio Farda, for responsible news and information. On Friday 13 June, Farda’s extremely popular Instagram profile attracted 62.5 million video views, a spike of 344%, and traffic to its website rose by 77% compared to its 30-day average. Farda is increasing its coverage to include ten-minute audio news bulletins at the top of the hour 24/7 to meet the needs of our audiences.

Even before the war began, more than 6.6 million Iranians, ten percent of the adult population, accessed Farda each week to get news that was not produced by the state-controlled propaganda networks.

Farda also provides the outside world a valuable and unparalleled look inside the Islamic Republic. This report features listeners from Tehran describing the intensity of the Israeli attacks on the country’s nuclear facilities.

Across the Arab Middle East and North Africa, where news is often state-controlled and anti-American, MBN’s Alhurra.com and social media platforms are covering the Israel-Iran hostilities for millions of Arabic speakers. They featured exclusive interviews with high-level figures such as former U.S. State Department Spokesman and Iran expert Alan Eyre and former Israeli National Security Advisor Eyal Hulata.

A segment with Hulata, “Why Israeli Jets Didn’t Use Saudi Airspace,” attracted more than 53,000 views in less than 40 minutes. Another clip, “How Israel Targeted Iranian Leaders Simultaneously,” also garnered strong audience engagement.

This coverage comes as the United States Agency for Global Media (USAGM) attempts to shutter RFE/RL and MBN by unlawfully cancelling their grant agreements.

As a result, MBN has been forced to terminate 90 percent of its staff and RFE/RL has furloughed some staff and reduced programming. USAGM shut down a transmitter it owns in Kuwait that Farda could use to reach the people of Iran. It has since been reactivated for use by Voice of America (VOA) for only 15 minutes a day after USAGM executives called VOA’s Persian Service back to work on short notice to cover the hostilities and give voice to U.S. officials and experts.

Ilan Berman, a leading Iran analyst who serves on the boards of RFE/RL and MBN (pictured), said:

“This is the most decisive moment in modern Iranian history since the Islamic Republic’s founding in 1979. America needs to seize it to talk directly to the Iranian people – to educate, to inspire and to tell them that a different future could lie ahead. The more we can do that, the better.

“I’m glad RFE/RL and MBN are still functioning, albeit at diminished capacity. The current conflict with the tyrannical rulers of Iran underscores the need for American voices to counter the lies and disinformation of U.S. adversaries. These tools can’t be allowed to disappear.”

Berman was the Trump administration’s transition team leader at USAGM before new leadership arrived earlier this year.

US District Court Orders USAGM to Release RFE/RL Funding for May

30 May 2025

US District Court Orders USAGM to Release RFE/RL Funding for May

Today, Judge Royce Lamberth of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia granted Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL)’s third request for a temporary restraining order in its lawsuit against the U.S. Agency for Global Media (USAGM).

In his ruling, the judge ordered USAGM to immediately disburse RFE/RL’s congressionally appropriated funds for the month of May. The judge rejected USAGM’s argument that the agency is not obligated to release the funds because other donors reportedly intend to provide financial support to RFE/RL to prevent its imminent collapse.

RFE/RL President and CEO Stephen Capus said:

“The will of Congress is clear and now the court, yet again, agrees: RFE/RL is to receive its appropriated funds for May, now a full month past due, to continue operating in alignment with America’s vital national security and foreign policy objectives.

Our dedicated journalists are needlessly paying a steep price because of USAGM’s refusal to release our funds in a timely manner.”

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About RFE/RL

Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) is a private, independent international news organization whose programs — radio, Internet, television, and mobile — reach a weekly audience of nearly 50 million people in 23 countries, including Russia, Ukraine, Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan, the republics of Central Asia and the Caucasus. It is funded by the U.S. Congress through USAGM. 

[Source: RFE/RL press release]

Legal win for RFE/RL over April Funding

14 May 2025

Legal win for RFE/RL over April Funding

In Legal Win, RFE/RL Receives April Funding; Lawsuit Continues for Remainder of FY 2025 Funds

On 13 May, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) received its overdue congressionally appropriated funds for the month of April. During the six-week delay, RFE/RL was forced to reduce vital programming and staff, depriving audiences in closed societies of news and information about the world.

The U.S. Agency for Global Media (USAGM) released $12 million after the full U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit administratively stayed an earlier decision by a divided three-judge panel of that court that had allowed USAGM to avoid complying with a district judge’s temporary restraining order requiring USAGM to pay RFE/RL its April funds. The move gives the full appeals court time to reconsider the three-judge panel’s reasoning.

In his April 29 order, Judge Royce Lamberth of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia emphasized that Congress enacted, and President Trump signed, a law funding RFE/RL this fiscal year. He wrote: “It is, after all, Congress that makes the laws in this country. In this case, for example, it was Congress who ordained that the monies at issue should be allocated to RFE/RL.”

Although this is a welcome step, RFE/RL will continue its lawsuit to secure all the funds that Congress appropriated for its operations this fiscal year.

RFE/RL President and CEO Stephen Capus said: “When we go dark, dictators and autocrats have the world’s front pages to themselves. Our audiences depend on RFE/RL for critical news about the Russian war in Ukraine, Iran’s nuclear ambitions, China’s growing influence, and toxic corruption in repressive regimes. When autocrats are strengthened, America is weakened.

“To carry out its congressionally mandated mission, RFE/RL needs its funds for the rest of this fiscal year.”

Other law suits have been brought in connection with the effective closure, or attempted closure of other US international broadcasters including Voice of America. It had been thought that staff might be able to start to return to work earlier in May. However, this has not happened and VoA remains off the air and its English-language website has not been updated since March. It is difficult to see how this situation will be resolved. If it is, the task of rebuilding audiences and their trust around the world will be immense.

RFE/RL – the funding saga continues with latest court ruling

30 April 2025

RFE/RL – the funding saga continues with latest court ruling

The six week long saga around the funding and operation of US international broadcasting networks – Voice of America, Radio Free Asia, Office of Cuba Broadcasting, and RFE/RL – continues. On 15 March, Voice of America went off the air, save for 5’ news bulletins that were compiled for some days. Funds from the US Agency for Global Media, USAGM, to the rest of the broadcasting entities were frozen (with the possible exception of the Office of Cuba Broadcasting).

Legal proceedings were initiated by some Voice of America to have staff reinstated and its operations restarted. RFE/RL started proceedings to have its funding, granted by the US Congress, released (USAGM had stopped releasing funds to the Prague-headquartered media company).

On 39 April, Judge Royce Lamberth of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia granted Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL)’s latest request for a temporary restraining order in its lawsuit against the U.S. Agency for Global Media (USAGM).

In his ruling, the judge ordered USAGM to immediately disburse RFE/RL’s congressionally appropriated funds for the month of April – over US$12m. The court concluded that USAGM’s refusal to disburse the funds on the same terms on which it disbursed the previous month’s funds was arbitrary and capricious. The court rejected USAGM’s argument that it could withhold the funds until RFE/RL signs a grant agreement placing unlawful and unworkable conditions on RFE/RL’s operations. Judge Lamberth found that USAGM’s actions “threaten the very existence” of RFE/RL.

RFE/RL President and CEO Stephen Capus said: “Today’s ruling ordering USAGM to release one month’s worth of the annual funds Congress appropriated to RFE/RL means that our journalists can continue doing their jobs holding dictators and despots accountable.

“We hope to receive April’s late payment quickly because RFE/RL was forced to furlough staff this month and cut back programming to regions crucial to American national security. Every day that USAGM withholds money further endangers our journalists, including four who are currently in prison.

“We will remain in court and look forward to working with USAGM to ensure that we’ll be paid for the rest of the fiscal year.”

Judge Lamberth’s order emphasised that Congress enacted, and President Trump signed, a law funding RFE/RL this fiscal year. He wrote: “It is, after all, Congress that makes the laws in this country. In this case, for example, it was Congress who ordained that the monies at issue should be allocated to RFE/RL.”