This weekend’s stabbing of Rafiq Tagi is a stark reminder of just how risky it can be to write about politics or religion in Azerbaijan. Emin Milli, who was jailed after criticising the government, describes the dangers of speaking out
UPDATE: Index on Censorship is sad to report that Rafiq Tagi died from his wounds in hospital on 23 November
Sanat newspaper editor Rafiq Tagi was stabbed on 19 November in Baku. He was said to be in a stable condition after several hours of surgery. In 2007, Tagi was charged with inciting national, racial and religious enmity after he published an...
The editor-in-chief of an independent daily paper in Azerbaijan has been imprisoned. Avaz Zeynally, from newspaper Khural, was arrested in Baku on Friday on charges of bribery and extortion. The charges follow a complaint filed by Gyuler Akhmedova,...
As Azerbaijan celebrates 20 years of independence, Index on Censorship tracks its citizens’ struggle for free expression
20 October: Azerbaijan – 20 Years of Independence and the Struggle for Democracy
Relatives of an Azerbaijani journalist were severely beaten while they attempted to prevent his house from being demolished by heavy machinery. Idrak Abbasov’s house was targeted for demolition amid accusations that it had been built illegally. The...
A journalist claims he was kidnapped and expelled from Azerbaijan. Yafez Hasanov, an Azerbaijani correspondent from Radio Azadliq, part of Radio Free Europe, was in Naxcivan investigating the death of airport technician Turaz Zeynalov, when he was...
American journalist Amanda Erickson and British activist Celia Davies Carys were followed home and beaten by four men on 15 June in Baku. The women are in Baku to train local journalists. Carys sustained a broken arm in the attack.
Government officials in Azerbaijan have admitted that the President Ilham Aliyev had a hand in censoring the country’s entries to the Venice Biennale festival. The artwork of Aidan Salakhova included a replica of the Black Stone, a sacred Muslim...
After four years of wrongful imprisonment, the Azerbaijani government has pardoned journalist Eynulla Fatullayev. Rebecca Vincent reports