CPJ joins call for Azerbaijan to maintain unfettered internet access during upcoming elections
The Committee to Protect Journalists on Monday joined #KeepItOn Coalition partners in calling on Azerbaijan authorities and the country’s telecommunications companies and internet service providers to maintain free, open, and secure internet access and avoid shutdowns throughout presidential elections scheduled for February 7, 2024. The letter highlights how Azerbaijani authorities have implemented internet restrictions on…
Azerbaijani authorities charge Kanal 13 journalists Aziz Orujov and Shamo Eminov over alleged foreign donor money, order channel blocked
Stockholm, January 8, 2024—Azerbaijani authorities should release journalists Aziz Orujov and Shamo Eminov, overturn a block on their outlet Kanal 13, and stop retaliating against critical independent media, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Monday. On December 22, police in the capital, Baku, detained Eminov, a freelance reporter who contributes to the popular YouTube-based broadcaster…
Azerbaijani journalist Hafiz Babali latest arrest in Abzas Media crackdown
Stockholm, December 13, 2023 – The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns the detention on Wednesday of investigative journalist Hafiz Babali and calls on Azerbaijani authorities to immediately release him and other detained journalists. “By arresting widely respected investigative journalist Hafiz Babali, Azerbaijani authorities are only confirming that their real aim in targeting Abzas Media is…
Azerbaijani journalist Rufat Muradli sentenced to 30 days in jail
Stockholm, December 4, 2023—Azerbaijani authorities must release journalist Rufat Muradli and end their crackdown on the independent press, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Monday. On Saturday, police in Azerbaijan’s capital, Baku, arrested Muradli, a presenter for the popular online broadcaster Kanal 13, on charges of minor hooliganism and disobeying police orders. Later the same…
Azerbaijani journalist Nargiz Absalamova detained for 3 months amid crackdown on Abzas Media
Stockholm, December 1, 2023 – The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns an Azerbaijani court decision on Friday to detain journalist Nargiz Absalamova for three months and calls on Azerbaijani authorities to release her and her jailed Abzas Media colleagues. “The continued arrests of Abzas Media journalists are unacceptable and only show how Azerbaijani authorities are…
Azerbaijani journalist Aziz Orujov detained for 3 months, office and home searched
Stockholm, November 29, 2023—Azerbaijani authorities should release Aziz Orujov, director of the popular television channel Kanal 13, from detention on charges of illegal construction, and cease their legal harassment of independent media, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Wednesday. The Sabail District Court in Azerbaijan’s capital, Baku, on Tuesday ordered that Orujov be held in…
Azerbaijani anti-corruption journalists Ulvi Hasanli and Sevinj Vagifgizi detained for 4 months
Stockholm, November 21, 2023—The Committee to Protect Journalists calls on Azerbaijani authorities to release Abzas Media director Ulvi Hasanli and chief editor Sevinj Vagifgizi and to disclose the whereabouts of Hasanli’s assistant, Mahammad Kekalov, who has been missing since Monday. A district court in the capital of Baku on Tuesday ordered that Hasanli and Vagifgizi remain…
Azerbaijan police arrest Abzas Media director Ulvi Hasanli, raid outlet
Stockholm, November 20, 2023 – Azerbaijani authorities should release Abzas Media director Ulvi Hasanli and allow the country’s beleaguered independent media to work freely, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Monday. Police in the capital, Baku, detained Hasanli outside his apartment early Monday morning on suspicion of unlawfully bringing money into the country, Hasanli’s lawyer,…
Azerbaijani journalist Vugar Mammadov sentenced to 30 days in jail over interview
Stockholm, July 28, 2023 – Azerbaijani authorities should release journalist Vugar Mammadov and stop retaliating against journalists for reporting on issues in the public interest, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Friday. On Monday, July 24, the Narimanov District Court in the capital, Baku, sentenced Mammadov, chief editor of independent news outlet Hurriyyet, to 30…
European Court of Human Rights awards compensation to Azerbaijani journalist Emin Huseynov over 2015 revocation of citizenship
Stockholm, July 25, 2023—In response to a July 13 judgment by the European Court of Human Rights stating that Azerbaijani authorities violated Emin Huseynov’s human rights when they deprived the journalist and press freedom advocate of his citizenship in 2015, the Committee to Protect Journalists issued the following statement: “We welcome the European Court of…