Stories about Azerbaijan
Controversy Over the Internet Governance Forum's 2012 Venue
As the 6th Internet Governance Forum is about to close its doors, controversy has emerged over the next venue. The venue has not been discussed in a multi-stakeholder way (including not only governments and businesses but also civil society). And it is those who were excluded from the decision who have the most concerns about Azerbaijan.
Azerbaijan: Youth Activist Sentenced
Jabbar Savalan, a 20-year-old opposition youth activist, has been sentenced to two and a half years in prison on drug possession charges. However, others maintain that Javalan was detained because of calls made on Facebook for demonstrations to be held in Azerbaijan following popular uprisings in Tunisia and Egypt.
Azerbaijan Deports Swedish Television Crew
The Commitee to Protect Journalists reports that Azerbaijan has deported a Swedish television crew which had arrived to film a documentary on human rights situation in the country. “According to...
Blogger Release in Azerbaijan: Forgotten Human Rights Crisis Unfolds at Council of Europe’s Doorstep
Inspired by pro-democracy uprisings in the Middle East and North Africa, a recent wave of protests in Azerbaijan has resulted in scores of bloggers, cyber activists, journalists, civil society activists and opposition political party members harassed, arrested and beaten.
Azerbaijan: Anonymous says Big Brother might be watching you
Since activists in Azerbaijan started using Facebook to coordinate and widen their activities, the authorities in the former Soviet republic are starting to keep a closer eye on social networking sites. Now, new allegations have emerged from Anonymous, the international hacking group.
Azerbaijan: Blowing Up in Their Facebook
Baku seems to be getting savvier about how to discredit, marginalize, or monitor online activists. This article was originally published on 9 March 2011 by Transitions Online and is used by permission.
Azerbaijan: Another activist arrested, questioned over Facebook
Following concerns that there might be an official attempt to discredit or crackdown on the use of Facebook by alternative voices in Azerbaijan comes news of the detention of yet another activist, Bakhtiyar Hajiyev.
Azerbaijan: As protests loom, Facebook is monitored
Recent events in the Middle East and North Africa have highlighted the potential use of online social networks for activism, but they have also added weight to existing personal and security concerns. Now, as their own day of protest draws near, online activity by prominent alternative voices in Azerbaijan appears to be monitored.
Azerbaijan: ‘Donkey bloggers’ released
Adnan Hajizade and Emin Milli, two video blogging youth activists, were conditionally released late this week in Azerbaijan, the oil-rich former Soviet republic. However, both men maintain their innocence while international human rights groups and organizations consider the charges against them to be politically motivated.
Azerbaijan: Free Expression under Attack
The report is the result of joint freedom of expression mission undertaken from 7 to 9 September, 2010. The mission representatives met with journalists and bloggers, collected testimonies from survivors of violent attacks, and family members of imprisoned journalists and bloggers, including Hikmet Hajizade, the father of imprisoned blogger Adnan Hajizade. The mission representatives also held meetings with civil society activists and government representatives.
Azerbaijan: Supreme Court Upholds Bloggers’ Conviction
On 19 August, the Azerbaijani Supreme Court considered the case of imprisoned bloggers and youth activists Emin Milli and Adnan Hajizade. In its decision, the Court upheld the lower courts' rulings, which convicted Milli and Hajizade of hooliganism and sentenced them to two and a half years and two years of imprisonment respectively. The two were arrested on 8 July 2009 after appealing to police as victims of an assault following an incident in which they were attacked in a restaurant.
Azerbaijan: Bloggers sentenced
As many of their supporters feared, and on the same day as a round table on the case against two detained video blogging youth activists, a court in Baku, Azerbaijan,...
Azerbaijan: Blogger trial continues
In the same week that Threatened Voices, an online project to map bloggers under attack worldwide was launched, the continuing trial of detained video blogging youth activists Adnan Hajizade and Emin Milli in Baku, Azerbaijan. The last court hearing was adjourned because witnesses did not turn up.
Azerbaijan: Video blogger trial postponed… again
In what many consider to be a politically motivated trial to stifle dissent in Azerbaijan, video blogging youth activists Adnan Hajizade and Emin Milli once again appeared in court today....
Azerbaijan: Appeal of bloggers rejected ahead of National Media Day
On 20th of July, Baku Court of Appeals was going to consider the cases of Adnan Hajizada and Emin Milli, two youth activists and bloggers recently beaten and detained in...
Azerbaijan: Activists’ support site goes down
Yesterday, as Önər Blog [AZ] reported, the Appellate Court in Baku was to consider again the case of Emin Milli and Adnan Hajizade, the recently beaten and detained youth activists and bloggers sentenced last week. Yesterday, however, one of the main websites created in their defense went down.
Azerbaijan: Youth activist, prominent blogger imprisoned after trial behind closed doors
In what might be the first case of a blogger being assaulted and detained in the South Caucasus, two youth activists were yesterday imprisoned for two months pre-trial investigative detention in what many consider to be a travesty of justice.
