Azerbaijan
Azerbaijani man detained on charges of blackmailing Aliyev family
Azerbaijan’s State Security Service claimed that he used footage sent to him by exiled bloggers.
Mehman Huseynov
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2020 Azerbaijani Parliamentary Election
Azerbaijani blogger ‘offered bribe’ by opponent to pull out of parliamentary race
Mehman Huseynov, a prominent Azerbaijani blogger who is running for 9 February’s parliamentary elections, has claimed that his opponent, sitting MP Faraj Guliyev, offered him ₼15,000 ($9,000) to withdraw his candidacy. In a recording released by Huseynov on Saturday, a man he identified as Guliyev is heard demanding he withdraw. Guliyev currently holds the Surakhani District 2nd Constituency seat in Baku, where both men are currently running. He chairs the National Revival Movement Party
Azerbaijan
Azerbaijani rapper Paster arrested and allegedly tortured
The popular Azerbajani rap singer Parviz Guluzade, known by the pseudonym Paster, has been arrested, and allegedly tortured by police. He had recently released a song titled ‘Gang’, which criticized Azerbaijan’s Pasha Bank. News of his arrest and alleged torture was reported on 26 December by independent Azerbaijani journalist Habib Muntazir. In his recent songs Guluzade also criticized the corruption and arbitrariness of Azerbaijani authorities. According to the Organized Crime and Cor
Azerbaijan
Protest in Baku in support of hunger-striking opposition politician
Around 20 people marched through Baku’s Winter Park on Monday demanding the release of opposition politician Azad Hasanov and others widely considered by rights groups to be political prisoners. The protest was dispersed by the police and 13 of the marchers were detained. Azad Hasanov, a member of the opposition Musavat Party, was arrested on drug-related charges charges on 12 October, two days after he returned to Baku from Lithuania. On 22 July, Hasanov went on hunger strike in protes
Azerbaijan
‘The appearance of change’ — Azerbaijanis question if the government is opening up
The Azerbaijani government has reacted swiftly in recent months to complaints in the media and online. While many speculate this may be a sign of a more open government in the country, others point to external factors and say they have seen it all before. Society was not indifferent to the announcement of a mass hunger strike after new charges were brought against imprisoned blogger and activist Mehman Huseynov. Other prisoners and members of civil society joined the hunger strike in suppor
Azerbaijan
Charges dropped against Huseynov after thousands rally in Baku
The Azerbaijani authorities have dropped new charges against imprisoned anti-corruption blogger Mehman Huseynov following large protests in the capital. Thousands gathered in Baku on Saturday calling for Huseynov’s release and an end to political prosecutions and corruption in the country. Huseynov, 26, was sentenced to two years in prison in March 2017 on charges of defamation, after accusing the police of abducting and torturing him. On Tuesday, the Prosecutor General’s Office droppe
Amnesty International
Mass hunger strikes in Azerbaijan against ‘political prosecutions’
At least 20 people both in prison and on the outside are now on hunger strike in Azerbaijan in protest against political prosecutions in the country, local activists say. Nine people being held in Azerbaijani prisons joined announced they had joined the strike on 14 January, informing their families in a joint letter sent from prison. They have been joined outside prison by opposition politicians, activists, and journalists, including investigative journalist Khadija Ismayilova. The hun
