12/11/25 - Sen. Shaheen tweeted ""I am moved by the words of @RFERL's Farid Mehralizada, who has been unjustly detained in Azerbaijan since May 2024, and I continue to call for his release. I look forward to the day when he visits the U.S. Senate as a free man, hopefully with his family." - @SenatorShaheen"
View the tweet here. 10/07/25 - Sen. Shaheen tweeted "“I welcome Azerbaijan’s commitment to peace. A new chapter in our relationship is possible, but that must include the release of those unjustly detained—including Farid, Ulviyya & Alasgar." - @SenatorShaheen"
View the tweet here. 07/29/25 - Sen. Shaheen tweeted ""Today, I want to call attention to @RFERL @AzadliqRadiosu journalist Farid Mehralizada who remains unjustly imprisoned in Azerbaijan for his reporting on the government’s economic and energy policy," said @SenatorShaheen. "He must be released. Journalism is not a crime.""
View the tweet here. 07/29/25 - Sen. Shaheen tweeted "In May 2024, Farid was abducted with a bag over his head and sentenced to 9 years in prison on manufactured smuggling and money laundering charges. After being separated from his wife, Farid missed the birth of his only child."
View the tweet here. 07/01/25 - Sen. Shaheen tweeted ""This week, I'm proud to highlight Ulviyya Ali, a @VOANews reporter jailed in Azerbaijan for exposing human rights abuses," said @SenatorShaheen. "In her final message before her arrest, Ulviyya warned that 'the Azerbaijani state has no tolerance left for independent media.'""
View the tweet here. 07/01/25 - Sen. Shaheen tweeted "Ulviyya refused to be silenced, even after being brutally beaten by police in 2021. Today, she is detained pending trial on trumped up charges, where according to loved ones, she is being denied proper medical treatment and her health is deteriorating."
View the tweet here. 03/24/25 - Sen. Shaheen tweeted ""Türkiye's government has begun detaining journalists like Zisan Gur and Murat Kocabas," said @SenatorShaheen. "Silencing reporters is a blatant attack of democracy—it must stop now. Journalism is not a crime.""
View the tweet here.
