The cost of speaking out: Azerbaijani student activists face intimidation and expulsion

For over a decade, Azerbaijani students engaged in activism have reportedly been detained, blackmailed, and barred from accessing further education for anything from requesting improvements to education to ‘insulting’ former presidents. Ulvi Hasanli, an activist since 2005, was expelled from his university in 2007 for leading the Dalga Youth Movement’s campaign against corruption in Azerbaijani universities. ‘At that time, one of the most serious issues in Azerbaijan was bribery in universit