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On March 16, the Baku Serious Crimes Court held a hearing in the case of public activist and founder of Yoldash Media, Ahmad Mammadli. The state prosecutor had requested a 9-year prison sentence. Following deliberations, the court sentenced Mammadli to 6 years in prison. Mammadli was detained on May 6, 2025, and formally remanded in […]

Azerbaijan’s parliament is debating two draft laws that would establish the country’s first legal framework for AI-generated content. One bill would criminalise the creation of AI-generated sexually explicit content featuring real individuals without their consent, carrying a prison sentence of up to seven years. A second bill would require all AI-generated content to be clearly […]

Jeyhun Novruzov, head of the Sabail district branch of the Popular Front Party (AXCP), has been sentenced to 25 days of administrative detention. According to the party, he was found guilty under: Article 510 (petty hooliganism) Article 535.1 (failure to obey police orders) The AXCP states that Novruzov had criticized traffic police on Facebook four […]

The story was originally published on Meydan TV. This is a translated and edited version.  The Baku Court for Serious Crimes has sentenced Azerbaijani blogger Manaf Jalilzade — who lives abroad — to 8 years in prison. The verdict was delivered in absentia. Jalilzade, currently residing in Switzerland, was charged with “calls against the state” […]

The original article was published by Meydan TV. Below is a translated and edited version of the original. Azerbaijan’s President, Ilham Aliyev, has signed a decree to improve children’s safety on social media. The decree introduces age restrictions on children registering on social platforms and mandates the development and enforcement of rules governing the use […]

The original story was published by Meydan TV. This is a translated and edited version. President Ilham Aliyev has signed a decree establishing the Digital Development Council, a new body tasked with overseeing digitalization, e-government, artificial intelligence, and innovation policy in Azerbaijan. The Council is mandated to coordinate state digital policy, supervise related programs and […]

Azerbaijan is now actively imprisoning civic activists and government critics under new administrative legislation signed into law by President Ilham Aliyev on 26 January 2026. The amendments, approved by parliament on 15 January, classify ‘immoral activity on social media directed against society and national morality’ as petty hooliganism — a shift from criminal to administrative […]

The story was originally published on Meydan TV. The version below is a translated and streamlined version of the original article.  The reach of Azerbaijan’s crackdown has increasingly extended beyond its borders. Journalists, bloggers, and activists living in exile across Europe have reported being surveilled, followed, and threatened — raising alarms about transnational repression. On […]

February 9, 2026 – Azerbaijan’s Supreme Court has adopted a sweeping new resolution on the protection of personality rights, prohibiting the dissemination of information about a person’s private and family life — even when that information is accurate — without their consent. Under the new rules, individuals may now seek civil remedies on the grounds […]

On February 2, TikTok blogger Salman Mammadov — known online as “Velizar” — was administratively detained on charges of disseminating prohibited content. Mammadov had attracted widespread public attention through live fundraising streams.  The arrest followed amendments to the Law on Information, Informatization and Protection of Information, signed by President Ilham Aliyev. The amendments ban the […]