FB Digest@VoxPOPULI   “Azerbaijan positioning itself as peacemaker but is accused of ethnic cleansing and imprisoning opponents...” (Lack of) Human Rights and Freedoms Former MP and businessman Nazim Baydamirli is facing a 9-year prison sentence. On September 16, the prosecutor made this request at the Baku Court of Grave Crimes, claiming that the former MP's demand for money through blackmail had been proven in court. However, Baydamirli disagrees. Before the prosecutor's statement—when the judge suggested concluding the investigation—he objected, stating that there were...


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FB Digest@VoxPOPULI   “The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe certainly cannot be blackmailed. The conditions are crystal clear. Azerbaijan must comply with all the rules of the Parliamentary Assembly without any ifs and buts...” (Lack of) Human Rights and Freedoms On September 12, the Baku Court of Grave Crimes reviewed and denied the petition to release activist Famil Khalilov, a first-degree disabled person, under house arrest. He has been on a hunger strike for 30 days in protest against his imprisonment. Khalilov, who was arrested on May 2, has been charged...


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FB Digest@VoxPOPULI   “The reason for the recent detentions might be that there is a preparation for a new war, and in this case, the regime do not want any dissenting opinions to appear even on social networks, meaning they do not want any views contrary to regime propaganda...” (Lack of) Human Rights and Freedoms On August 28, the Baku Court of Appeals rejected the appeal against the Khatai District Court's decision to impose pre-trial detention on Anar Mammadli, head of the Election Monitoring and Democracy Studies Center (EMDS). Jailed activist Akif Gurbanov Nominated for the Václav...


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FB Digest@VoxPOPULI   “The international community should increase pressure on the Azerbaijani government to release 23 journalists and media representatives who are unjustly imprisoned in Azerbaijan...” (Lack of) Human Rights and Freedoms The Azerbaijani government has intensified its repression ahead of the COP29 conference to be held in Baku. A young political analyst and PhD candidate at Charles University in Prague, Behruz Samadov, has reportedly been detained. In his articles, Samadov has repeatedly criticized the Azerbaijani government for its authoritarianism and its stance...


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FB Digest@VoxPOPULI   “Ilham Aliyev's deliberate policies over many years have completely destroyed the electoral institution and the public's trust and confidence in elections in the country...” (Lack of) Human Rights and Freedoms Activist Aykhan Israfilov was brutally beaten and placed in solitary confinement. Israfilov was taken from the Penitentiary Facility on June 29, 2024, and since then, there has been no information about his whereabouts. His family members and lawyer contacted the Penitentiary Service to obtain information, but the Penitentiary Service stated that they...


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