Civil and criminal defamation provisions present serious obstacles to freedom of expression in Azerbaijan. The IPGA is working to encourage the decriminalisation of defamation and to ensure that civil defamation provisions are used in accordance with international standards.
Critical journalists, bloggers and activists are under constant threat of imprisonment in Azerbaijan. The IPGA is working towards the immediate release of those currently in detention or prison in connection with exercising their right to freedom of expression.
Journalists in Azerbaijan face violent attacks in retaliation for voicing critical opinions, while their attackers operate in a climate of total impunity. The IPGA is working to stop this cycle of violence against journalists and to bring their attackers to justice.
Since the March 2005 murder of Monitor magazine editor-in-chief Elmar Huseynov, dozens of journalists have been the victims of violent attacks in Azerbaijan. In virtually… more
Idrak Abbasov was among several journalists reporting on the demolition of houses by the State Oil Company of Azerbaijan Republic (SOCAR)…. more
On March 7, 2012 Khadija Ismayilova received a letter including six intimate photographs of herself along with a threat, stating “Whore, behave. Or you will be defamed”… more
While on his way home in the late evening of November 19, 2011 Rafiq Taği was attacked by a group of men in a nearby car-park and stabbed repeatedly with a knife… more
Elmar Huseynov was returning home from work at approximately 9pm on March 2, 2005 when he was shot repeatedly in the stairwell of his building… more
Journalists, media workers, and bloggers risk jail time if they are not careful what stories they pursue in Azerbaijan. The authorities often use politically motivated… more
Guliyev, Editor-in-chief of xeber44.com, was convicted on April 5, 2013 by the Lankaran Grave Crimes Court and sentenced to 8 years in prison. more
Tofig Yagublu was arrested on February 4, 2013 alongside REAL Movement co-leader Ilgar Mammadov. They were accused of organising a mass protest in the province of Ismailli on January 23-24 2013. more
Aliyev was detained on May 20, 2012 as he was distributing CDs containing information on house demolitions in the run up to the Eurovision Song Contest 2012 in Baku, the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict and a number of other controversial issues. more
Novruzoglu, a freelance independent journalist, was accused of using Facebook to call upon people to riot and of illegally crossing the Azerbaijani-Turkish border more
Mammadov was arrested on 21 June 2012 by officers of the Nasimi District Police Department. Police allegedly found heroin during a search of Mammadov’s apartment… more
Avaz Zeynalli was imprisoned and a given a fine on March 12, 2013 after being tried for trying to extort money from an Azeribaijani Member for Parliament… more
On 21 May 2012, Huseynov was taking photos of an opposition protest in Baku in his professional capacity as a journalist. He got into an altercation with a police officer… more
Ogtay Gulaliyev was conducting a meeting with the residents of Minbashi, in the Sabirabad region on April 8, 2012 when he was arrested by local policemen… more
Vugar Gonagov was convicted with organising mass disorder on March 15, 2013 along with Zaur Guliyev, the editor in chief of Khayal TV. more
Zaur Guliyev was convicted with organising mass disorder on March 15, 2013 along with Vugar Gonagov, the executive director of Khayal TV. more
On 8 June 2012, Amiraslanov was arrested by officials of the Ministry of Internal Affairs’ Anti-Organised Crime Unit. The officials placed a bag over his head and forced him into a car… more
Defamation remains a criminal offence in Azerbaijan, carrying a penalty of up to three years’ imprisonment more