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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.

Imprisoned Azerbaijani journalist condemns media crackdown in prison letter

Jailed Azerbaijani journalist on dry hunger strike over letter to EU chief

Toplum TV case: Azerbaijani activist Akif Gurbanov rejects charges in court

RSF demands release of jailed Azerbaijani journalist over health fears

IRFS - Institute for Reporters' Freedom and Safety

Imprisoned Azerbaijani journalist condemns media crackdown in prison letter

Jailed investigative reporter Hafiz Babali has condemned the total suppression of independent media in Azerbaijan in an open letter written from behind bars to mark the country's National Press Day. Babali, who is serving a nine-year prison sentence following a police...

Jailed Azerbaijani journalist on dry hunger strike over letter to EU chief

A jailed Azerbaijani journalist has been on a dry hunger strike for 18 days after being placed in a punishment cell for writing a letter to European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, his family says. Yashar Aghazadeh, a former staff...

Toplum TV case: Azerbaijani activist Akif Gurbanov rejects charges in court

An Azerbaijani opposition figure facing trial alongside independent journalists has told a Baku court that government efforts to suppress democratic values in the country will fail. Akif Gurbanov, head of the Institute for Democratic Initiatives and speaker of the III Republic...

RSF demands release of jailed Azerbaijani journalist over health fears

Media watchdog Reporters Without Borders (RSF) has called for the immediate release of jailed Azerbaijani journalist Aytaj Ahmadova, warning that her health is deteriorating rapidly without access to medical care. The rights group said Ms Ahmadova, who has been held in...

Toplum TV: Opposition leader accuses Baku of seeking to control judiciary and media

An opposition leader on trial in Azerbaijan over his links to independent outlet Toplum TV has accused authorities of attempting to destroy media freedom and the rule of law. Speaking in his final address to the Baku Serious Crimes Court on...

Azerbaijan’s new social media rules build ‘control infrastructure’, expert warns

A sweeping new law in Azerbaijan regulating social media platforms is a step towards establishing a permanent, institutionalised system of state control over digital expression, a leading media expert has warned. Under the legislation passed by the Milli Majlis (parliament), social...

CPJ demands medical care for jailed Azerbaijani journalist Aytaj Tapdig

The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) has demanded that Azerbaijan provide immediate medical treatment to jailed independent journalist Aytaj Tapdig, warning that her health is deteriorating behind bars. The US-based press freedom watchdog said Tapdig, who is being held under the...

Georgian TV channel Formula fined over defamation of film director

A Tbilisi court has ordered the Georgian television channel Formula to pay a prominent film director 10,000 lari (£2,900; $3,810) after upholding a defamation lawsuit against the broadcaster. The lawsuit, filed by filmmaker Goga Khaindrava, concerned an investigative report aired in...

Toplum TV: Azerbaijan activists condemn ‘one-man rule’ as trial nears end

Three jailed Azerbaijani activists have condemned President Ilham Aliyev's "one-man system" during their final courtroom speeches in Baku, as a controversial media trial nears its conclusion. The defendants, associated with the independent online channel Toplum TV, are among nine people facing...

Toplum TV: Lawyers demand acquittal as Azerbaijan media trial wraps up

Defence lawyers in Azerbaijan have called for the acquittal of independent journalists and activists as closing arguments concluded in the high-profile Toplum TV trial on Monday. The trial of 10 defendants associated with the independent outlet Toplum TV and the Institute...

Azerbaijan TikToker jailed for five years over fatal car crash

An Azerbaijani court has sentenced popular TikTok influencer Ilduze Hajiyeva to five years and two months in prison over a fatal car crash in Baku. Hajiyeva, known online to her followers as "Arzum 9999", was convicted of violating traffic safety regulations...

Azerbaijan trial of 12 independent journalists restarts under new judges

The trial of 12 Azerbaijani journalists linked to the independent outlet Meydan TV has restarted under a new panel of judges after the previous presiding judge was promoted. Presiding judge Zaur Hajiyev took over the case at the Baku Grave Crimes...

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Imprisoned Azerbaijani journalist condemns media crackdown in prison letter

Jailed Azerbaijani journalist on dry hunger strike over letter to EU chief

Toplum TV case: Azerbaijani activist Akif Gurbanov rejects charges in court

RSF demands release of jailed Azerbaijani journalist over health fears

Toplum TV: Opposition leader accuses Baku of seeking to control judiciary and media

Azerbaijan’s new social media rules build ‘control infrastructure’, expert warns

CPJ demands medical care for jailed Azerbaijani journalist Aytaj Tapdig

Georgian TV channel Formula fined over defamation of film director

Toplum TV: Azerbaijan activists condemn ‘one-man rule’ as trial nears end

Toplum TV: Lawyers demand acquittal as Azerbaijan media trial wraps up

Azerbaijan TikToker jailed for five years over fatal car crash

Azerbaijan trial of 12 independent journalists restarts under new judges

Azerbaijan blocks independent regional news site OC Media

Azerbaijani authorities have blocked access to OC Media, an independent regional news website, in the latest restriction of non-state media in the country. Readers across Azerbaijan reported being unable to access the Tbilisi-based English-language platform without a Virtual Private Network (VPN)...

EU chief meets Azerbaijan president amid human rights pleas

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has met Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev in Baku, amid calls from jailed journalists to address the country's human rights record. The one-on-one meeting took place on 1 July following Mrs von der Leyen's arrival...

Toplum TV trial: Defence says fair verdict ‘highly naive’ as long jail terms sought

A defence lawyer in the trial of independent Azerbaijani journalists and activists linked to Toplum TV has said it would be "highly naive" to expect a fair verdict from the court. Fuad Agayev, representing prominent opposition figure Akif Gurbanov, made the...

Toplum TV: Detained Azerbaijani activist Ramil Babayev spends 29th birthday in prison

Azerbaijani democracy activist Ramil Babayev has spent his 29th birthday in custody, more than two years after his arrest in a controversial crackdown on independent media. Babayev, an employee of the Baku-based Institute for Democratic Initiatives (IDI), was detained on 6...

New media body will tighten state control, watchdog warns

A global press freedom watchdog has warned that a proposed law to establish a media super-regulator in Azerbaijan will tighten state control over the country's remaining independent digital spaces. The bill, which is expected to be debated in parliament on 30...

Azerbaijan moves to ease website blocking amid self-censorship fears

Azerbaijan’s parliament is preparing to vote on amendments that would allow authorities to temporarily block websites without a court order, raising fears of increased self-censorship among independent media. Under the proposed changes to the country's information law, executive bodies will be...

Azerbaijan prison system faces crisis over overcrowding and high reoffending rates

Azerbaijan has been ranked as having the second-highest prison population rate in Europe, amid growing concerns over systemic corruption, torture, and a failure to rehabilitate inmates, according to a Council of Europe report. The Council of Europe (CoE) annual "Space I"...

Jailed Azerbaijani journalist Aytaj Ahmadova denied phone calls, family says

Jailed Azerbaijani journalist Aytaj Ahmadova, detained under the controversial Meydan TV smuggling case, has had her telephone contact with friends cut off by prison authorities, her family has said. Ms Ahmadova's family told the independent media outlet Meydan TV that her...

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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