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[UPDATE] On November 12, access to the Internet was finally restored across the country in Azerbaijan. This was shared in an announcement shared by the Ministry of Communication, Transportation and High Technologies on November 11. In a statement, the Ministry said: The temporary restriction on Internet access imposed in our country in order to prevent […]

Parliament in Azerbaijan is set to discuss a draft law on hate speech. While independent critics say there is no need for a separate law, given the existing legal framework that does offer context on hate speech, there is suspicion it is another law with an intention to harm independent voices.  On September 17, Zahid […]

On September 10, the Facebook page that belongs to an online news website bastainfo.com was hacked. Bastainfo.com is affiliated with the opposition party Musavat and is known for often running into problems with the authorities. Its editor was handed a five year suspended sentence in February 2019. The website bastainfo.com remains blocked for access in […]

On September 8, seven Azerbaijani dissidents who now live in various cities across Europe were targeted by the government of Azerbaijan. In addition to being formally charged with a crime in their absence and arrest warrants issued, the authorities have vowed to ask Interpol for their extradition. The story goes back to last year when […]

Rustam Ismayilbeyli is an 18-year-old activist from Azerbaijan who was arrested earlier this summer for staging a protest outside the Ministry of Education. Together with a group of students, he was demanding that the Ministry cancels tuition fees and exams for the academic semester as a result of Covid19. After three of the organizers including […]

Writer Keramet Boyukchol was briefly taken to the police for questioning after an alleged complaint to the police made by his neighbors. Police claimed neighbors complained he was making too much noise.  Boyukchol is known for his criticism of the authorities on social media and in the numerous interviews, he has done with the media.  […]

[Update] On March 5, the Court in Baku sentenced Ibrahim to one year and three months.  [Update] On February 17, during his hearing, Nijat Ibrahim, once again refuted the claims that he was intentionally spreading the coronavirus when he was arrested in July 2020. “When police arrested me, I was wearing a mask and gloves. […]

Several activists and journalists had their Facebook accounts compromised in recent weeks in Azerbaijan.  At the end of June, a veteran human rights lawyer, Intigam Aliyev, reported a break-in attempt into his Facebook profile. A few days later, an opposition group D18 reported their Facebook page was compromised. On July 2, journalist Aysel Umudova and […]

On July 13, Azerbaijan arrested, former Minister of Defense, Rahim Gaziyev on the grounds of incitement against the state and provocation online. “[…]former Defense Minister Rahim Gaziyev purposefully spread inappropriate news about the events on social media and reasonable suspicions have been found that these acts aimed at weakening its defense capabilities of the Republic […]

In July of last year, in their response to the Government of Azerbaijan, four of the websites that were blocked for access in Azerbaijan in 2017, reiterated their claim that the ban violates their right to freedom of expression. According to EHRAC, this response came following the Government’s [of Azerbaijan] submissions to the European Court […]