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IRFS - Institute for Reporters' Freedom and Safety

04/01 2022

Azerbaijan ranks fifth in non-execution of ECHR decisions

03/29 2022

Politically motivated persecutions in Azerbaijan have not abated – Amnesty International

Is Prime Minister Ali Asadov the Next Target? What is Going on Behind the Scenes with His Business Empire

There has been a lot of talk in the news about Prime Minister Ali Asadov in Azerbaijan. On April 17 some news websites that support the government like Qafqazinfo started saying that Prime Minister Ali Asadov has a business empire. They said he owns a lot of buildings, restaurants and even a hotel in the capital city. They also said that Prime Minister Ali Asadov uses some of his journalists to leak secret information from meetings to hurt his political enemies or to take attention away from what he is doing.

Azerbaijan plans powerful new media regulator to merge existing watchdogs

Jailed Azerbaijan politician rejects National Salvation narrative

Salvation, or Authoritarian Revenge? Azerbaijan’s Unfinished Democratic Transformation

Jailed Toplum TV journalist rejects proposed 13-year sentence

IRFS - Institute for Reporters' Freedom and Safety

Azerbaijan plans powerful new media regulator to merge existing watchdogs

Azerbaijan’s parliament is debating legislation to merge its media watchdogs into a single state regulator with sweeping powers to monitor digital content and penalise publishers. Under the proposed amendments discussed by the parliamentary Human Rights Committee on Tuesday, the new Media...

Jailed Azerbaijan politician rejects National Salvation narrative

An imprisoned Azerbaijani opposition leader has rejected his country's official National Salvation Day, describing the 1993 political transition as an authoritarian comeback by Soviet-era elites. Akif Qurbanov, the speaker of the Third Republic Platform political movement, made the claims in an...

Salvation, or Authoritarian Revenge? Azerbaijan’s Unfinished Democratic Transformation

By Akif Qurbanov Akif Qurbanov, the spokesperson for the Third Republic Platform who is currently detained under the "Toplum TV case," has written an article concerning National Salvation Day. We present the article, published by the Khar Center, in its original...

Jailed Toplum TV journalist rejects proposed 13-year sentence

A jailed Azerbaijani journalist has written an open letter from prison strongly rejecting a prosecutor’s demand for a 13-year sentence, saying that the state has effectively criminalised journalism. Farid Ismayilov, a reporter for the independent online media outlet Toplum TV, was...

Azerbaijani activist accuses prison deputy of brutal abuse

An imprisoned Azerbaijani activist has accused a Baku detention centre's deputy head of brutal torture, systemic abuse of power, and using "smart cameras" to cover up beatings. Ramil Babayev, a member of the independent Institute for Democratic Initiatives (IDI), smuggled a...

CPJ condemns 16-year jail demands for Azerbaijan’s Toplum TV journalists

The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) has called on Azerbaijan to drop all charges against independent reporters and activists facing up to 16 years in prison. State prosecutors in Baku requested the heavy sentences on 8 June for nine people associated...

Toplum TV: Detained Azerbaijan activist accuses police of taking £7,800 cash

An Azerbaijani opposition activist has filed a court petition accusing police of failing to account for a laptop and 17,000 manats (£7,800) in cash allegedly taken during his arrest. Akif Gurbanov, the head of the Institute for Democratic Initiatives (IDI) and...

Azerbaijan replaces entire judicial panel in Meydan TV trial

An Azerbaijani court has replaced all three judges overseeing the landmark trial of 12 independent journalists and activists linked to the media outlet Meydan TV. The decision to swap the entire panel at the Baku Grave Crimes Court has prompted warnings...

Azerbaijan detains journalist Afgan Sadygov after extortion case reopened

An Azerbaijani court has ordered the pre-trial detention of independent journalist Afgan Sadygov after reopening an extortion case that prosecutors had previously closed in April. The Binagadi District Court in Baku ruled that Mr Sadygov, the editor-in-chief of the online news...

AI data centres risk creating global water and land crisis, UN warns

The rapid expansion of artificial intelligence is consuming planetary resources at an unsustainable rate, a United Nations (UN) study has warned. The report, by the UN University Institute for Water, Environment and Health (UNU-INWEH), reveals that data centres now use more...

Meydan TV journalists’ trial postponed indefinitely after judge promoted

An Azerbaijani court has indefinitely postponed the trial of a group of independent journalists and activists linked to the media outlet Meydan TV, following the promotion of the presiding judge. The Baku Grave Crimes Court on 5 June delayed the hearing,...

Jailed Azerbaijani outlets shortlisted for global press freedom award

Two independent Azerbaijani media outlets whose journalists face lengthy prison terms have been shortlisted for a prestigious international press freedom award. The International Press Institute (IPI) and International Media Support (IMS) named Meydan TV and AbzasMedia among 11 nominees for the...

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Azerbaijan plans powerful new media regulator to merge existing watchdogs

Jailed Azerbaijan politician rejects National Salvation narrative

Salvation, or Authoritarian Revenge? Azerbaijan’s Unfinished Democratic Transformation

Jailed Toplum TV journalist rejects proposed 13-year sentence

Azerbaijani activist accuses prison deputy of brutal abuse

CPJ condemns 16-year jail demands for Azerbaijan’s Toplum TV journalists

Toplum TV: Detained Azerbaijan activist accuses police of taking £7,800 cash

Azerbaijan replaces entire judicial panel in Meydan TV trial

Azerbaijan detains journalist Afgan Sadygov after extortion case reopened

AI data centres risk creating global water and land crisis, UN warns

Meydan TV journalists’ trial postponed indefinitely after judge promoted

Jailed Azerbaijani outlets shortlisted for global press freedom award

Jailed Azerbaijan journalist Farid Mehralizade marks two years in custody

An imprisoned Azerbaijani journalist has marked two years in detention by releasing a rare account of life inside the country’s prison system. Farid Mehralizade, an economist and reporter for Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL), was arrested on 30 May 2024 as...

Imprisoned Azerbaijan journalist Fatima Movlamli urges children to seek truth

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...

Mahammad Mirzali: Nine on trial in France over plot to kill Azerbaijani blogger

A trial has opened in the French city of Rennes of nine men accused of plotting to murder Mahammad Mirzali, a prominent Azerbaijani blogger and critic of his country's government. Mirzali, who was granted political asylum in France, survived a violent...

Georgia fines opposition TV channel Formula over anti-government language

Georgia's state media regulator has fined the opposition-leaning television channel Formula for breaching impartiality standards, in the first such sanction under controversial new broadcasting laws. The Communications Commission (ComCom) ordered the station to pay 2,500 lari (£740; $940) following a monitoring...

Iran state media chief summoned over photos of unveiled woman

The head of Iran's official state news agency has been summoned to court after the outlet published photographs of a Tehran woman without a mandatory headscarf. The Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA) published a photo-documentary on its website showcasing the story...

Azerbaijani judges storm out of court as journalist details president’s wealth

A panel of Azerbaijani judges abruptly halted a trial in Baku on Friday after a detained journalist began testifying about the offshore wealth of President Ilham Aliyev's family. Khayala Aghayeva, an investigative reporter with the independent outlet Meydan TV, was speaking...

Babali and Gasimov have ended their hunger strike.

Economist Fazil Gasimov and reporter Hafiz Babali were incarcerated. They ceased consuming food as a form of protest. Those near them stated this on May 20. Fazil Gasimov was placed in a prison cell on May 18. He is now...

Baku Appeals Court Upholds Six-Year Prison Sentence for Ahmad Mammadli

The Baku Court of Appeal has upheld a six-year prison sentence against journalist and public activist Ahmad Mammadli, rejecting an appeal to overturn his conviction. Judge Ali Mammadov presided over the panel that issued the decision on May 14. According to...

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04/01 2022

Azerbaijan ranks fifth in non-execution of ECHR decisions

Azerbaijan ranks fifth among the member countries of the Council of Europe in terms of non-execution of decisions of the

03/29 2022

Politically motivated persecutions in Azerbaijan have not abated – Amnesty International

Amnesty International published its annual report on the world human rights situation on March 29. The part concerning Azerbaijan indicates

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IRFS - Institute for Reporters' Freedom and Safety​

IRFS - Institute for Reporters' Freedom and Safety​

IRFS - Institute for Reporters' Freedom and Safety​

IRFS - Institute for Reporters' Freedom and Safety

IRFS - Institute for Reporters' Freedom and Safety

IRFS - Institute for Reporters' Freedom and Safety