Azerbaijan’s Media Crackdown

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Afgan Sadygov. Photo via Sakartvelos Ambebi.

Afgan Sadigov

Detained Azerbaijani journalist transferred to Georgia prison hospital following hunger strike

by OC Media

•2 min read

Detained Azerbaijani journalist Afgan Sadigov has been transferred to a prison hospital in Georgia on his 17th day of hunger strike. Sadigov has been in extradition custody in Gldani prison in Tbilisi since 4 August. Sadigova told Netgazeti on Tuesday that she was informed about her husband’s transfer to the hospital late Monday night. ‘I asked [to] talk to my husband, so I could hear his voice’, she said, adding that she was denied permission. ‘They called me late at night, but I don’

Bahruz Samadov. Illustration: Tamar Shvelidze/OC Media

Armenia

When advocating for peace becomes treason — the arrest of Bahruz Samadov

by Yousef Bardouka

•6 min read

Azerbaijan’s arrest of researcher and writer Bahruz Samadov has led to widespread outcry, and speculation about the implications for the prospect of peace or further war with Armenia. On the evening of 21 August, Azerbaijani social media filled with posts calling for any information on Bahruz Samadov’s whereabouts. Samadov was visiting Azerbaijan while on holiday from his studies, and had gone missing that afternoon, shortly before he was expected to meet a friend. After two days of silenc

Afgan Sadigov

Demonstration in Tbilisi against extradition of Azerbaijani journalist Afgan Sadigov

by OC Media

•3 min read

A demonstration was held in front of the Government Chancellery of Georgia in support of Afgan Sadigov, an Azerbaijani journalist who has been detained in Georgia while awaiting a court decision regarding extradition to Azerbaijan. On Tuesday, around two dozen local journalists and activists, together with Afgan Sadigov’s wife and two children, gathered to show solidarity and demand Sadigov’s release. Sadigov, the head of the Azerbaijani news outlet and YouTube channel Azel.TV, was originall

Mahammad Kekalov, Nargiz Absalamova, and Farid Mehralizade.

AbzasMedia

Azerbaijan presses new charges against three detained in AbzasMedia case

by Aytan Farhadova

•2 min read

Azerbaijani police have pressed new charges against two of AbzasMedia’s staff members and an economist detained during the crackdown on independent media. The chief investigator of the Baku City Police Department on Friday charged AbzasMedia’s deputy director Mahammad Kekalov, journalist Nargiz Absalamova, and unaffiliated economist Farid Mehralizade with illegal entrepreneurship, smuggling assets as part of an organised group, tax evasion, and falsifying documents. If found guilty under the

Afgan Sadigov

Georgia detains and threatens to extradite Azerbaijani journalist

by Aytan Farhadova

•2 min read

Georgian authorities have detained Azerbaijani journalist Afgan Sadigov and have scheduled a hearing for his extradition. Sadigov, the head of the independent Azerbaijani news outlet and YouTube channel Azel.TV, was detained on Saturday, less than a month after he was barred from leaving Georgia unless he travels to Azerbaijan. Sadigov had been living in Georgia with his family since December 2023. [Read more: Azerbaijani journalist ‘barred from leaving Georgia’] His wife, Sevinj Sadig

Anar Mammadli

Azerbaijani activists launch campaign to free activist Anar Mammadli ahead of COP29

by Aytan Farhadova

•2 min read

A Geneva-based rights group has launched a campaign on behalf of Azerbaijani activists, calling for the release of detained pro-democracy activist Anar Mammadli ahead of COP29. The Free Anar Mammadli Campaign to End Repression in Azerbaijan was launched by the Progress and Change Action Lab on behalf of anonymous Azerbaijani activists. ‘The Anar Mammadli Campaign to End Repression in Azerbaijan is a joint project of Azerbaijani human rights defenders and NGOs. The members of the Steering Com

Nijat Amiraslanov. Image via social media.

Azerbaijan

Azerbaijani activist reportedly detained and tortured after ‘betrayal’ by former journalist

by Aytan Farhadova

•3 min read

An Azerbaijani activist has said he was detained and tortured by the authorities after a former journalist who he had helped to escape from the country returned and turned him in. Nijat Amiraslanov, a member of the pro-democracy NIDA movement, was reportedly abducted from his home on Sunday, tortured, and then released the following day. Amiraslanov told OC Media that he was detained after a former Azerbaijani journalist, Shirin (Tire) Abbasov, returned to Azerbaijan and testified that he ha