Azerbaijan - November 2023

Azerbaijani police arrested seven journalists in late November and early December, prompting outcries from international rights watchdogs and media about the worst crackdown on media freedom in years. Five journalists from the investigative media outlet Abzas Media are being held in pre-trial detention on charges of smuggling foreign currency into the country. The police claim to have found 40,000 USD in cash in Abzas Media’s offices during a raid on 20 November, and pro-government media have repeatedly accused the arrested of being spies of the United States government without providing evidence. Abzas Media and experts say the charges are retaliation for the outlet’s investigations into corruption and public officials. The founders of the online television channels Kanal 11 and Kanal 13 have also been arrested on unrelated charges that observers consider trumped-up.

Sources: Eurasianet, OC Media (1), OC Media (2), Committee to Protect Journalists

A military court convicted Vagif Khachatryan, 68, to 15 years in prison on charges of genocide on 7 November, for what prosecutors said was his involvement in a massacre during the First Karabakh War in 1991. Khachatryan was detained by Azerbaijani border guards when being transferred by the International Committee of the Red Cross from Nagorno-Karabakh to Armenia for surgery in July 2023. Khachatryan and Armenian authorities denied and condemned the charges. Eight senior leaders of the former Nagorno Karabakh Republic are also being held in Azerbaijan facing similar serious charges. Observers have pointed out that the prosecutions, which appear to have popular support in Azerbaijan, run contrary to the country’s official policy of building peace and integrating Karabakh Armenians into Azerbaijani society.

Sources: Eurasianet, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty