RSF - Reporters sans frontières
RSF - Reporters sans frontières
06/02/2026 | Press release | Archived content
Mahammad Mirzali murder attempt trial: RSF calls for firm response to transnational persecution
On 2 June, Reporters Without Borders (RSF) testified at the trial in Rennes, in northern France, of those accused of the 2021 attempt to murder Mahammad Mirzali, an Azerbaijani blogger with refugee status in France. RSF testified about the threats, intimidation and violence that this exiled journalist has faced for years, and calls for a firm judicial response to the Azerbaijani government's transnational persecution.
"This trial is crucial because it goes beyond the case of Mahammad Mirzali alone, raising the question of whether authoritarian regimes can order acts of violence against exiled journalists, even on French soil, without ever being held to account. As transnational persecution intensifies, combatting impunity has become a democratic imperative. If the perpetrators are convicted but those who ordered the attack remain out of reach, the message sent to press freedom predators could have dire consequences.
Jeanne Cavelier
Head of RSF's Eastern Europe and Central Asia desk
An Azerbaijani blogger who has lived in exile in Nantes, in northwestern France since 2016, Mahammad Mirzali was seriously wounded in a knife attack on 14 March 2021. According to the police investigation, several members of a commando group that came from Germany are suspected of involvement in this murder attempt.
As Jeanne Cavelier, the head of RSF's Eastern Europe and Central Asia desk, told the court, the attack forms part of a broader context of transnational persecution carried out by the Azerbaijani regime against journalists, bloggers and opposition figures in exile. RSF assisted Mahammad Mirzali in his efforts to seek protection, alerted the French authorities to the exceptionally high level of threat he faced and secured police protection for him.
RSF expects the trial to deliver a strong response to the impunity enjoyed by the perpetrators and instigators of violence intended to silence journalists beyond Azerbaijan's borders. The trial is due to end on 12 June.
Published on 02.06.2026
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