Friends of Azerbaijan Condemn the forced closure of The Human Rights House, Azerbaijan

Friends of Azerbaijan call on the government of Azerbaijan to reinstate the Human Rights House which has worked hard since 2007 to implement structures that allow free speech and support people to speak freely without intimidation.
We call on the Azerbaijan Government to retract it’s oppressive act to stop all activity of this important organisation or [...]

Heavy-handed response to Baku protests

Amnesty International Report (Link to original)

Around 30 people were arrested in Baku today when part of a virtual protest against the government in Azerbaijan became reality.
Small groups of people gathered spontaneously in different areas of central Baku, responding to an 11 March Facebook event that over 4,100 people signed up to.
Protesters on the streets told [...]

March 12th Protests: Police break up opposition rally in Azerbaijan

BAKU (Reuters original article here) – Azerbaijan police detained more than 30 activists of the opposition Musavat Party when its members took to the street of Baku on Saturday to protest against the ruling elite following a similar rally a day before.
Azerbaijan, an energy supplier to Europe and a transit route for [...]

Police detain 43 in Azerbaijan protest bid

BAKU (Reuters March 11th 2011) – Azerbaijan security forces detained 43 people on Friday after anti-government activists used social media to call for street protests in the oil-producing Muslim state, inspired by the Arab uprisings.
Azerbaijan, an energy supplier to Europe and a transit route for U.S. troops in Afghanistan, has [...]

Azerbaijan: Youth Activists Targeted as Freedom of Expression Clampdown Continues

STATEMENT FROM ARTICLE 19 [10 March 2011]
Azerbaijan: Youth Activists Targeted as Freedom of Expression Clampdown Continues
Member organisations of the International Partnership Group for Azerbaijan condemn the recent wave of arrests of youth activists and bloggers in connection with planned pro-democracy protests in the country, and call for their immediate release. Reports of restrictions on freedom [...]

CPJ delegation presses for Fatullayev’s freedom

In Washington today, a delegation from the Committee to Protect Journalists delivered a letter to the Azerbaijan Embassy carrying the names of more than 500 international journalists petitioning for the immediate release of imprisoned editor Eynulla Fatullayev.
In 2009, Amnesty International awarded Eynulla their annual Special Media Award which pays tribute to the courage of journalists [...]

Blogger trial ends with 2yr sentence

Today, 11th November 2009, two bloggers Adnan Hajizade and Emin Milli were charged with hooliganism after a long drawn out trial and sentenced to 2 and 2.5 years in jail.

Human rights groups and other national and international organisations and political figures across the globe have called out in criticism aginst this verdict which is not [...]

‘Global Voices’ monitor Blogger trial

Global Voices article Azerbaijan: Detained Bloggers go on Trial details the proceedings of the court hearing for Emin Milli and Adnan Hajizade which took place on Friday 4th September 2009.
The article includes Twitter communication between friends who flocked to support Emin and Adnan on the day. The twitter posts reveal strong support for the two [...]

Journalist dies whilst in detention

The Committee to Protect Journalists has called for an independent investigation into the death  of Novruzali Mamedov, editor of the now-defunct minority newspaper Talyshi Sado, who had been in state custody since February 2007.
Novruzali Mamedov died from a suspected stroke on Monday in a Baku prison hospital following repeated requests, it has been reported, for [...]

Azerbaijan authorities once more restrict free speech in Eurovision debacle

Authorities in Azerbaijan are reportedly investigating all 43 individuals who logged a vote for the Armenian song entry in the 2009 Eurovision Song Contest, rather than the Azeri one.
Radio Free Liberty spoke with Svante Stockselius the executive supervisor of the Eurovision Song Contest  on August 19 and confirmed that the European Broadcasting Union, the organizer [...]