The village of Soyudlu in western Azerbaijan was locked down by the police in late June after its residents protested environmental damage caused by a goldmine. The police’s response to the protests provoked outrage in Azerbaijan, with many activists criticising it for being disproportionate.

This week, we spoke to Roya Malikzada a lawyer at Ecobill, an Azerbaijani environmental group that has been providing legal aid to people in Soyudlu, Elmaddin Shamilzade, a journalist who was detained for his coverage of the protests, and Bahruz Samadov, a political scientist and PhD candidate at Charles University in Prague, about the protests, the police’s response, and the repercussions the incident might have on Azerbaijan.

Read more:

• Azerbaijani activists and journalist detained over mine protests
• Azerbaijani police lock down village after environmental protests

Become a supporter at oc-media.org/support_us, or on Patreon.