Azerbaijan

“At least 15 Azerbaijani journalists have been arrested since November 2023 and currently await trial on charges that could see them jailed for between eight and 20 years. Thirteen of them remain in pre-trial detention.”

Azerbaijani authorities have used politically motivated, bogus criminal charges to prosecute and imprison activists, journalists, and human rights defenders ahead of COP29 in November.

HRW presents a Q&A focusing on the human rights implications of COP29 and the human rights concerns associated with holding the conference in a repressive state that relies heavily on fossil fuels.

“Hundreds of people are behind bars in the country on politically motivated charges. A new wave of detentions is currently underway, with dozens of activists and media figures arrested on baseless, serious criminal charges.”

“Azerbaijan’s hostility towards independent civic activism raises serious concerns about whether human rights defenders, academics, journalists, and other independent members of civil society will be able to participate meaningfully at COP29″ – HRW

Rights groups urge the UN to ensure that future climate summits are held in countries that respect human rights and allow for peaceful assembly and free speech.

Afgan Sadygov moved to Georgia seven months ago to escape persecution by the authorities in his own country, where he has been arrested several times on various dubious charges.

EFJ adds its voice to the Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights’s call for the release of journalists and civil society activists imprisoned in Azerbaijan for their legitimate work.

Since the Azerbaijani government began its campaign of intimidation on 20 November 2023, at least 13 journalists have been arrested, 11 of whom are still behind bars.

The hunt for journalists from the few remaining independent media operating in Azerbaijan continues.

“Everything seems to indicate that this was yet another attempt to murder Mahammad Mirzali … A hit squad was sent from abroad to target a blogger who was given political asylum in France because of his criticism of Ilham Aliyev. This case must be addressed at the highest state level.” – RSF

On 8 May, freelance journalist Ayten Mammadova was threatened by a knife-wielding man in the elevator of her apartment block. The man demanded that she stop writing about a trial she was covering, and warned that if she didn’t he would ‘deal’ with her daughter.

Zaur Gambarov was sentenced to three and a half years in prison on 28 February over an altercation at a branch of the social security department, where he had gone on 4 May 2020 to investigate a complaint.

Geybulla has been unjustly accused of betraying her country for taking a measured and journalistic stance in the face of the recent armed conflict between Azerbaijan and Armenia.