Words and drawings in solidarity with Azerbaijani journalist Ulviyya Ali, whose prison writings open Memorial Italia’s new publishing series.
A journalist is imprisoned, but she continues to write. Her words travel beyond the prison walls, reach other people, are translated, and become a book. La mia voce non si arresta—“My Voice Cannot Be Arrested”—brings together letters and interviews from prison by Ulviyya Ali Guliyeva, the journalist and human rights defender detained in Azerbaijan. I created the cover and several drawings for this ebook.
The volume inaugurates politzèk – voci dalla zona, a series initiated by Memorial Italia and published by the University of Turin. Edited by Giulia De Florio and Simone Zoppellaro, it includes a foreword by Riccardo Noury, spokesperson for Amnesty International Italy, and a previously unpublished contribution by Azerbaijani journalist Javid Agha, Ulviyya’s friend and colleague. As reported by Adnkronos, its release was announced for October 13, 2026, her thirty-third birthday.
For years, Ulviyya documented human rights violations, trials, and events that those in power would rather keep out of public view. Between 2019 and 2025, she worked for Voice of America’s Azerbaijani service. On May 7, 2025, she was arrested in connection with the Meydan TV case. She rejects the accusations and maintains that her detention is a consequence of her journalism. Her biography and the writings that continue to circulate are collected on her website.
In her statement to the court on September 15, 2026, Ulviyya denounced the political nature of the proceedings and the repression of independent journalism. She continues to scrutinize power even while it determines the conditions of her daily life.
Accompanying these words with drawings carries a responsibility: to bring attention to a person without speaking over her. A portrait can hold someone’s gaze, prompt a question, or encourage a reader to look up a name. The pages of a book can extend that encounter, helping a person’s story remain visible beyond the daily news cycle.
Publishing testimony from prison also establishes a relationship with those outside. Readers receive words that have had to overcome real obstacles to reach them. They can circulate those words, discuss them, and help keep their author in public view. Through that relationship, publishing can become an act of solidarity.
The series connects the circulation of prisoners’ testimony with initiatives supporting its authors. The ebook is intended for free distribution through the University of Turin’s publishing platform, alongside a fundraising campaign supporting Ulviyya Ali.
I invite you to read her words, share them, and support the campaign. Making Ulviyya’s name known helps sustain the public space that her journalism has worked to defend.
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