Azerbaijan: Photojournalist released

June 14th, 2012

On the evening of 13 June, Azerbaijani photojournalist Mehman Huseynov was released after being detained the previous day. He was arrested after being accused of insulting policemen and charged with “hooliganism”, a regular tactic used by Azerbaijani authorities to silence critical voices in the country. Huseynov’s arrest, together with the sentencing of Anar Bayramli on 11 June and the arrest of other political activists, has widely been seen as part of a renewed clampdown on freedom of expression following the Eurovision Song Contest on 26 May. The charges against Huseynov remain. To sign Index on Censorship’s petition to support free expression in Azerbaijan, click here

Index calls on Azerbaijan government to protect human rights

May 18th, 2012

As the Eurovision Song Contest hits our screens next week, Index calls on the expected 125 million viewers not to ignore the human rights abuses – against journalists, artists, activists – that the Azerbaijan government presides over

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