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Between May 13 through 17, four different video clips from private Zoom calls were leaked online. The videos were taken from calls that took place between senior members of the National Council of Democratic Forces (NCDF), an alliance representing several opposition parties in Azerbaijan.  The members of the council called the leak a cybercrime committed […]

For almost a month now, political activist, Bakhtiyar Hajiyev has been the target of multiple forms of online attacks. In an interview with AIW, Hajiyev said, from being impersonated online and fake social media accounts in his name, calling for protests, to on-going attempts to break into his social media accounts, it is a comprehensive […]

[Update] On June 17, Irshadov was reportedly detained over a social media post. According to Meydan TV, the blogger was detained for criticizing a new quarantine rule restricting the reopening of some mosques that was introduced by the Cabinet of Ministers. Irshadov was released after a preventative discussion, reported Meydan TV. May 18, activist Elvin Irshadov, […]

Turan, Azerbaijan’s independent news agency was subject to multiple DDoS (Distributed Denial of Service) attacks and was briefly blocked.  The incident took place between May 15 through 18. The Agency’s Director, Mehman Aliyev said the hosting provider for the news agency failed due to an overwhelming amount of incoming traffic. In an interview with AIW, […]

[Update May 27, 2022] Afgan Sadigov was released from jail on May 27, following a presidential decree that called for the release of over 200 prisoners from jail.  [Update] According to Azerbaijan Service for Radio Free Europe, Afgan Sadigov’s sentence was reduced in a Supreme Court ruling on July 2. The original sentence of 6 […]

[UPDATE] September 4, in an interview with independent Turan News Agency, Ali Karimli confirmed that he remains cut off the internet. His cellular signal also stops functioning after 8 pm every day.  August 6, Baku Court of Appeal rejected to evaluate opposition party leader Ali Karimli and his wife, Samara Seyidova’s complaint against the Ministry of the […]

May 9, Azerbaijani politician, Gultekin Hajibeyli’s Instagram account hacked and taken down. Instead, a fake profile impersonating Hajibeyli was set up, with her private mobile phone number shared publicly in the profile description. Hajibeyli, was targeted online previously. Such attacks are common in Azerbaijan, where opposition politicians and independent activists are targeted online. Account “break-ins”, […]

On the morning of April 22, an independent online news platform, abzas.net noticed strange activity on its website. Not only did the website lose, a month worth of published articles, but that some articles’ headlines were also changed.  In an interview with AIW, the website’s editor Ulvi Hasanli confirmed the attack. Hasanli said, this was […]

On April 21, several cities and administrative districts across the country reported experiencing internet disruptions. The disruptions were reported on DeltaTelecom one of the only two companies in Azerbaijan licensed to connect international internet traffic [the second one being AzerTelecom]. Delta Telecom is considered the backbone internet provider in Azerbaijan and handles most of the […]

June 17, Amina Rustamzade, wife of activist Ilkin Rustmazade attempted suicide after numerous posts violating her right to privacy [see below]. Rustamzade overdosed herself with sleeping pills. She was taken immediately to a clinical center where doctors were able to stabilize her condition. While her condition is stable, the perpetrator behind the harassment against Amina remains […]