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Ever since 2013 revelations about Russia’s troll factory, many in Azerbaijan wondered whether the country’s leadership too operated its very own troll factory. Unlike its Russian version, known as the Internet Research Agency, there was only anecdotal evidence of whether this was really the case in Azerbaijan. There were no former “factory” employees who came […]

This is part five and the final installment, in a series of detailed legal reports and analyses on existing legal amendments, and new legislation affecting privacy, freedom of expression, media, and online rights in Azerbaijan and their compliance with international standards for freedom of expression.   This final report, “The State of Internet Freedom in Azerbaijan, a legal overview” was prepared in partnership […]

This is part four in a series of detailed legal reports and analyses on existing legal amendments, and new legislation affecting privacy, freedom of expression, media, and online rights in Azerbaijan and their compliance with international standards for freedom of expression.  We dedicate this report to the recent Pegasus Project investigations.   Background Members of opposition political parties, independent journalists, political and human […]

[Update] On May 20, 2022, the Baku Grave Crimes Court, sentenced Humbatov to six years in jail. The religious activist was found guilty of drug possession charges. Razi Humbatov, a member of the religious movement “Muslim Unity” went missing on July 7. Two days later, his whereabouts were confirmed to Meydan TV, by a human […]

Ookla’s monthly speed test index is in and according to its June report, Azerbaijan took 122nd [out of 181 countries] and 66th place [out of 137 countries] on the fixed broadband and mobile internet speed list respectively. Last year Azerbaijan ranked 111th and 60th for the same indicators in the month of August. Experts remain […]

An international collaborative reporting on the #PegasusProject released simultaneously by a number of international media, including The Guardian, the Wire India, the Washington Post, and OCCRP among 12 others, the global investigation documents how NSO Group, an Israeli surveillance company, sold Pegasus, a hacking software, to authoritarian regimes to target human rights activists, journalists, and […]

On July 16, Qurium Media Foundation released a report, “A Decade of Efforts To Keep Independent Azerbaijani Media Online”.  The report highlights the work carried out by Qurium since 2010 assisting targeted independent and opposition online news platforms in Azerbaijan. “For more than a decade, Qurium has monitored and mitigated a wide range of cyberattacks […]

On July 8, Azerbaijan Internet Watch received a notification that an email sent on behalf of Human Rights Watch reached a number of prominent Azerbaijani civil society activists. The email contained an attachment “Human Rights Invoice Form Document – 2021.docx” prompting the recipient to download the attached file. AIW, reached out to partners at Qurium […]

Violence and harassment against women in Azerbaijan have reached a new level when a user named [@] panturaloriginal mocked women and the way they choose to dress during a live feed via his Instagram account. While the video is no longer available on the user’s Instagram account Shafi Shafiyev, an activist from Azerbaijan shared one […]

The plans to roll out a new Media Law in Azerbaijan were announced in January 2021 following a Presidential Decree “on deepening media reforms in the Republic of Azerbaijan.” In addition to a new Media Law, the decree also called for an establishment of a brand new body, the Azerbaijani Agency for Media Development replacing […]