another wave of arrests targets online news platform

Posted on March 7, 2024 by aiw_admin

On March 6, police stormed the office of Toplum TV, an online news platform in Baku. While the office was searched, the police questioned some fifteen staff members. Among those detained were interns and the tech team. While nine were released after questioning, at least six other journalists were sent to pre-trial custody on bogus smuggling charges.

Shortly after detention, social media accounts belonging to Toplum TV were compromised.

As a result, all 3600 videos on Toplum TV’s YouTube channel were deleted.

Previously Toplum TV’s Facebook page was hacked via SMS interception.

authorities arrest another blogger and block access to a public forum

Posted on February 22, 2024February 22, 2024 by aiw_admin

Farid Suleymanov was arrested on January 8, 2024. He was sentenced to 30-day administrative detention. And although Suleymanov was scheduled for release on February 7 – the day of snap presidential elections – he was instead taken back to BandOtdel – the department for combating organized crime at the Ministry of the Interior.

Suleymanov is an activist, lawyer, and blogger from Azerbaijan. Active on a number of social platforms, Suleymanov ran a TikTok channel called “I saw it, I showed you.” Through his videos, Suleymanov raised awareness of the illegal activities of the traffic police, exposing their unlawfulness. For this, he has been questioned several times but let go. He also informs his audience via his social media channels of other challenges and issues in the country.

According to this video on Suleymanov’s YouTube channel, he was approached by a group of unknown men, who, without introducing themselves, shoved him into a white Mercedes and took him to BandOtdel.

Separately, Az-net Watch received an anonymous email from a reader informing the platform of the blocking of a Russian-language forum www.baku365.com. According to the information shared in the email, all three main mobile operators and local ISPs have blocked access to the website. On what grounds remains unclear. Earlier, Suleymanov’s daughter shared a post about her father’s unlawful arrest and detention.

blogger arrested

Posted on January 28, 2024February 2, 2024 by aiw_admin

Arzu Sayadoglu, known as a blogger who often critiques the state officials and the government, was reportedly arrested on January 28, 2024. According to family and friends, the blogger first went missing after an interview with an opposition YouTube channel, AzadSoz. It was announced two days later that the blogger was arrested and sent into pre-trial detention.

Meydan TV reported that the blogger was sentenced to four months in pre-trial detention and charged with extortion.

editor of an online television channel disappears, then handed arrest [several other journalists detained]

Posted on December 11, 2023February 2, 2024 by aiw_admin

Kanal11 editor Teymur Karimov first reportedly went missing on December 11. But the same day, the Ministry of Internal Affairs confirmed Karimov’s whereabouts in a statement saying Karimov was detained and charged with extortion. The founder and director of Kanal11, Karimov, was sent to four months of pre-trial detention.

If convicted, Karimov will face five years behind bars or fifteen with aggravated circumstances.

Karimov was among scores of journalists rounded up in November and December, ahead of the snap presidential election that is taking place on February 7, 2024.

According to Kanal11, the real cause of Karimov’s arrest was his previous reporting on corruption in one of the regions of Azerbaijan.

Also on December 11, police arrested two more journalists – Ibrahim Humbatov of Azerinfo.az and Arshad Ibrahimov of Dunyaninsesi.az – on alleged extortion charges. Both journalists were sent into pre-trial detention pending trial.

Separately on December 13, authorities arrested investigative journalist Hafiz Babali and sent him into three-month pre-trial detention on smuggling charges.

The journalist was arrested as part of an ongoing investigation against Abzas Media.

activist taken from his home after a social media post

Posted on July 13, 2023 by aiw_admin

Activist 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 former political prisoner Giyas Ibrahimov was arrested and sentenced to 30 days in administrative detention on bogus charges of resisting police. 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 the activist after Ibrahimov voiced criticism against the state over its mishandling of popular unrest in one of the villages in western Azerbaijan. The latter is related to the former accusation, punishing Ibrahimov over his social media post.

On June 21, police arrested another activist and board member of the opposition NIDA Youth Movement, Elmir Abbasov. He was sentenced to 20 days in administrative detention for disobeying police. The movement said, the charges leveled against Abbasov were bogus, and the real reason behind the activist’s arrest was his Facebook post about the protests and the state’s violent response to the residents of the village. Abbasov was released on July 11.

In recent years, scores of activists, rights defenders, and journalists have been called into questioning, detained or sentenced, or held accountable over activity on social media platforms.

another activist sentenced over social media post

Posted on June 12, 2023June 12, 2023 by aiw_admin

Amrah 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 on May 27. After being held at the police station for two days, the activist was taken to court, where he received the 30 day administrative detention sentence.

The social media post

On May 16, Tahmazov, posted on his Facebook profile, about jailed political activist Alizamin Salayev. Salayev was on a hunger strike for more than 100 days over his unlawful arrest. Highlighting his case, Tahmazov wrote on Facebook, calling on President Aliyev to release Salayev, “you have made this nation sick, you have made everyone sick. Get your hands off the man. Let us live.”

Three days after Tahmazov posted the status, police showed up at his address. The activist’s parents told the police he was not home. Writing about this Tahmazov said, “I don’t like to exaggerate but if they come after me, know that its because of the previous post [about Salayev].”

The arrest

The indictment against Tahmazov claims the activist was arrested by the police after he was heard cursing on the street in downtown Baku, accusations the activist denies. According to Meydan TV’s reporting, during the appellate court hearing on June 10, the court ruled to keep the activist behind bars.

Tahmazov’s lawyer, Zibeyde Sadigova told Meydan TV they intend to take the case to the European Court of Human Rights.

The charges of hooliganism and disobeying police are often used against civic and political activist in Azerbaijan.

activist sentenced to 25 days in administrative detention over social media posts

Posted on March 30, 2023 by aiw_admin

On March 18, civic activist, Elvin Mustafayev (known online as Atilla Khan) was sentenced to 25 days in administrative detention on charges of petty hooliganism and disobeying police in Saatli province of Azerbaijan. According to Mustafayev’s friends, the activist was reprimanded for his critical-of-the-authorities comments and posts on Facebook. Since mid-March, residents of Saatli have been protesting water shortage.

Mustafayev lives in Saatli himself and he wrote about the protest and police violence he witnessed. Shortly after he was called in for questioning and arrested on the spot on bogus allegations. According to reports, riot police used rubber bullets and tear gas against local residents who took the streets to voice their grievances.

Local opposition parties recognized Mustafayev’s detention as politically motivated.

In Azerbaijan, one man sentenced to ten months over a series of tweets

Posted on November 2, 2021 by aiw_admin

The 35-year-old resident of Nakhchivan was arrested in April, 2021. He was charged with Article 148 of the Ciminal Code (slander or insult using fake accounts on internet information services). In June, the Nakhchivan City Court sentenced the user to ten months. According to Azerbaijan Service for Radio Liberty reporting, the same court, reviewed the motion filed against the court’s June decison on October 24. In its ruling, the court decided to replace the sentence with a fine. Taking into account, the time spent behind bars since April, the court then also ruled to remove the fine.

The man, whose name is only identified by his initials, K.M., was jailed over a series of tweets from 2020, targeting the head of the Supreme Assembly of the Autonomous Republic of Nakhchivan, Vasif Talibov.

AIW was unable to verify the tweets. Only two tweets with the same text appeared in search results. Both belonged to two different users.

This is the first case where a user of social media platform, was arrested and then jailed explicitly over a text posted online and specifically on Twitter. Previously reported cases of harassment and initimidation of online activists, including detentions and/or arrests were justified with other offenses listed under the Criminal Code. Most common charges are hooliganism, disobeying authority, and drug posession.

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