Imprisoned Azerbaijan journalist Fatima Movlamli urges children to seek truth

Fatima Movlamli

An imprisoned Azerbaijani journalist has urged the country's children to "seek the truth" and question government narratives, in a letter published on International Children's Day.

Fatima Movlamli, who is currently being held at a Baku detention facility under the controversial "Meydan TV case", released the open letter on her Facebook page on Monday.

Writing from her prison cell to mark the international holiday on 1 June, Movlamli warned young people that they were being lied to by state media and schoolteachers.

"They lie to you all, children – from the speaker on television to your teacher at school," she wrote. "The reality of the country you live in is not a bed of roses."

Movlamli said that government promises of welfare and "state care for children" were a myth. She alleged that child benefit payments had been halted for years, forcing parents to work long hours in harsh conditions for minimal pay.

She also accused schoolteachers of teaching "government-approved fairy tales" rather than real national history, and of facilitating electoral fraud during national votes.

"I want you to gain the ability to question, children," the letter read. "Do not be afraid to ask 'Why?' It will not be easy, but you will succeed and find the truth."

Movlamli is one of several independent journalists currently detained in Azerbaijan. The oil-rich nation has faced persistent criticism from international rights groups over its treatment of independent media and civil society.

The "Meydan TV case" is part of a broader, ongoing criminal investigation against journalists associated with the Berlin-based independent Azeri media outlet. The government in Baku has previously accused such outlets of violating financial regulations and acting on behalf of foreign interests.

Despite the risk of being labelled unpatriotic by state authorities, Movlamli urged her young readers to remain resilient in their search for the truth.

"The greatest patriot is the one who does not accept the surrender of their country to fraudsters, liars, and oppressors," she wrote.