News
Internet disruptions in Fuzuli [Update October 24, 2023]
october 12, 2023[Update] Reports from Fuzuli confirm, that internet access has been restored as of October 24, 2023. Residents say that despite almost a month-long throttling, they have noticed the cash balance on their accounts has been withdrawn even though there was no internet access. Of the companies providing Internet access in Fuzuli, only Aztelekom has thus […]
the saga with media registry continues in Azerbaijan [Update November 15, 2023]
september 25, 2023[Update] Dia.az website was reportedly blocked inside the country following the court decision on November 15. The Media Development Agency filed the case with the court on November 10 [see the following update below]. The site’s manager considers the court’s decision unlawful. Zamanov told Meydan TV he will be appealing the decision. In an interview […]
yet another activist detained over social media posts [Updated January 17, 2024]
september 22, 2023[Update] On January 17, Ruslan Vahabov [see the case below] was sentenced to 4 years behind bars on drug possession charges. [Update] Authorities continued to target civic activists critical of the state during October. Below is a compilation of some the cases documented by AIW. October 27 – Tural Farzili was detained after a post […]
Azerbaijan temporarily suspends access to TikTok [updated October 31, 2023]
september 19, 2023[Update] Access to TikTok was restored as of October 31, according to reports. The access was restored together with a call from the Cyber Security Service asking users to comply with the requirements of the legislation of the Republic of Azerbaijan and the rules and conditions set by social network administrators when sharing on social […]
Court in Baku blocks access to an online TV channel
september 15, 2023On September 13, the court in Baku ruled in favor of blocking access to the YouTube channel of an online news site “Hürriyyət” [Hurriyyet]. The decision was based on the request from the General Prosecutor’s Office. The court in its ruling said the news site violated the law on Information, informatization, and protection of information, […]
Authorities arrest blogger despite lack of evidence [Update March 1, 2024]
august 24, 2023[Update] Mammadli may face a possible eight-year sentence, according to the hearing, which took place on February 29. During the hearing, lawyer Fariz Namazli said his defendant is being charged with the crimes without evidence proving Mammadli indeed committed fraud, hooliganism, and extortion. August 24, 2023 – Blogger Jamil Mammadli is facing multiple charges, including […]
journalist removes social media posts under duress
july 13, 2023A confession from journalist Elmaddin Shamilzadeh about the forced removal of social media posts under duress is a testament to persistent violence and intimidation used in Azerbaijan against civic groups. According to the reporting by Voice of America, Shamilzadeh was severely beaten by law enforcement during his detention last month. After the journalist agreed to […]
activist taken from his home after a social media post
july 13, 2023Activist Latif Mammadov was reportedly taken from his home, after posting on social media a critical post, about President Ilham Aliyev’s comments on recent protests in the village of Soyudlu. Mammadov is the third civic activist to be detained/questioned by law enforcement over online commentary about the village protests. On June 22, political activist and […]
administrative detention handed over social media posts
june 27, 2023Former political prisoner, Giyas Ibrahimov was sentenced to 30 days in administrative detention on bogus charges of resisting police on June 22. On June 24, new charges were leveled against the activist, accusing Ibrahimov of spreading prohibited information on the Internet (Article 388.1 of the Code of Administrative Offenses). The former was handed down to […]
another activist sentenced over social media post
june 12, 2023Amrah Tahmazov, a civic activist was sentenced to 30 days in administrative detention. While police claims the activist was arrested over hooliganism and disobeying police, Tahmazov and his friends, believe the arrest was over his social media post in which he criticized the President Ilham Aliyev. According to reporting by Meydan TV, Tahmazov was detained […]