Freedom of speech is guaranteed Aliyev says as Azerbaijan blocks news websites
President Ilham Aliyev claims that in Azerbaijan the internet is free and press freedom is guaranteed. But ahead of the April 11 snap elections, authorities have systematically silenced critical voices online through amending laws and blocking news websites, and hackers have attacked independent news outlets.
Azerbaijan goes to the polls amid muzzled media and blocked websites
When it comes to silencing critics, Azerbaijani authorities have been industrious and methodical. Ahead of snap presidential elections scheduled for April 11, potential opposition candidates have been either jailed or barred from running, and the political landscape has been cleansed of virtually all formal avenues of expressing dissent.
Prosecutor in Ukraine flouts court, refuses to return journalist’s passport
New York, April 4, 2018–The Committee to Protect Journalists today called on Ukrainian prosecutors to return the passport of Fikret Huseynli, a Dutch national of Azerbaijani origin, and to respect a district court’s April 2 ruling that the journalist should not be extradited to Azerbaijan or have his movements restricted.
Azerbaijan government seeks order to permanently block news websites
New York, April 28, 2017–The Azerbaijani government should immediately stop trying to permanently block access to five independent media outlets’ websites and should instead lift a decree that has rendered them currently inaccessible, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. A district court in the capital Baku yesterday began hearing a government lawsuit that seeks…