According to Turan News Agency, a member of the opposition Popular Front Party Elnur Hasanov was sentenced to 30 days of administrative detention over critical posts shared on social media.
The press service of the Ministry of the Interior refuted the claims the arrest of the activist was political.
Scores of political activists have been facing pressure, arrests, and detentions in recent months in Azerbaijan over their comments, and posts on Facebook. In May 2022, AIW published a legal analysis of content regulation in Azerbaijan. At the time, an uptick in cases in which social media users faced punitive measures by the Prosecutor’s General Office for their online activism indicated that the Office has taken on a temporary role of taking measures against activists, journalists, and media within the scope of laws on information and media. But continuing involvement of the Office in handing out fines and warnings may indicate that in addition to punitive measures, there is a plan to introduce legal measures on social media platforms.