The obscure threat to the internet you need to know about

December 2nd, 2012

As an arcane UN body seeks new relevance and campaigns to take over internet governance, Dominique Lazanski — a member of the UK WCIT-12 delegation — outlines the risks it poses to net freedom and free speech

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Letter from Baku

November 7th, 2012

Witnessing Azerbaijan’s autocracy in action, Mike Harris reports from the Internet Governance Forum

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Internet freedom? Not in Azerbaijan

November 6th, 2012

Azerbaijan’s government locks up its online critics on trumped-up charges. It’s an odd choice to host a giant international forum on internet freedom and Rebecca Vincent asks international visitors to look below the country’s modern veneer
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Azerbaijan: 100 protesters arrested during crackdown on rally

October 22nd, 2012

One hundred protesters were arrested today by security forces in Baku, Azerbaijan‘s capital. The organisers of the protest decided to make their way to Baku’s Fountain Square to call for the dissolution of parliament, even though the country’s authorities refused to sanction the planned rally. Authorities took measures to curb the protests, with security forces gathered in the centre an hour before the planned protest. According to well-known Azerbaijani lawyer Asabali Mustafaev, some protesters outside of Baku were detained before even travelling to the rally.    

The truth about Azerbaijan

September 19th, 2012

The gas-rich country presents itself as open and modern, but Azerbaijan is not safe for activists and journalists fighting for free speech, says Natasha Schmidt 

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Azerbaijan after Eurovision

July 18th, 2012

As the Eurovision Song Contest fades from memory, Azerbaijan has stepped up its attacks on journalists. Blogger Emil Baghirov reports on the dire state of press freedom in the Caucasus nation
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Azerbaijan anti-censorship petition goes to Houses of Parliament

July 4th, 2012

The government of Azerbaijan, led by autocratic President Ilham Aliyev, thought the Eurovision Song Contest was the perfect opportunity to airbrush the country’s poor human rights record. Yet even after spending an estimated $750 million on Eurovision, thanks to Index on Censorship and its partners in the International Partnership Group for Azerbaijan (IPGA), the message got out that free speech is not protected in Aliyev’s Azerbaijan.
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Azerbaijani Talysh journalist detained

June 22nd, 2012

An Azerbaijani  journalist was arrested yesterday on charges of illegal possession of drugs. Hilal Mamedov, a member of the Talysh ethnic minority, is the editor-in-chief of Talysh language newspaper Tolishi Sado (Voice of Talysh). A Baku court announced a three-month pretrial detention for the journalist, who was kidnapped and detained without explanation according to family members. The arrest comes shortly after the journalist made a popular anti-Putin video.