Reacting to the news that another independent Azerbaijani journalist, Teymur Karimov, was arrested on Monday in Baku and now faces criminal charges, Natalia Nozadze, Amnesty International’s South Caucasus Researcher, said:
“The arrest of Teymur Karimov follows a disturbing pattern of spurious charges being brought against journalists and other critical voices in Azerbaijan. What we are witnessing is an escalating crackdown on independent media, which began with the arrest of the leadership of the independent Abzas Media and Kanal 13 in late November.
The arrest of Teymur Karimov follows a disturbing pattern of spurious charges being brought against journalists and other critical voices in Azerbaijan
Natalia Nozadze, Amnesty International’s South Caucasus Researcher
“What’s unfolding is worryingly reminiscent of the crackdowns on independent media, media freedom and civil society seen in 2012 and 2015, which decimated civil society in Azerbaijan, saw the closure of critical outlets and NGOs, and the persecution and arbitrary arrests of dozens of human rights defenders and activists.”
Background
On 12 December 2023, the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Azerbaijan confirmed the arrest of Teymur Karimov, the head of the independent YouTube news channel Kanal-11, who had gone missing a day earlier. According to officials, a criminal case was opened against him under Article 182 of the Criminal Code (“extortion”).
Since November, authorities have arrested at least six journalists, placing them in pretrial detention on what appear to be fabricated charges. Those arrested include the director of Abzas Media, Ulvi Hasanli; chief editor Sevinj Vagifgyzy; journalist Nargiz Absalamova; contributor Mahammad Kekalov; the founder of Kanal 13, Aziz Orujov; and its host, Rufat Muradli. A handful of other journalists were called in for questioning and reported being harassed and threatened against continuing their journalistic activities and critical reporting.-0-
Politics
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On January 23, the Baku Court of Appeal considered the complaint of Meydan TV journalist Natig Javadli against the refusal to transfer him to house arrest.
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On January 23, the Deputy Commander of the Azerbaijani Ground Forces, Ilgar Latifov, met with a Pakistani delegation headed by the Director General of Military Operations, Abdullah Kashif. The parties discussed the state and prospects for the development of military cooperation between Azerbaijan and Pakistan, as well as the importance of increasing the intensity of joint exercises.
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The announcement of 2025 as the "Year of the Constitution and Sovereignty" in Azerbaijan has sparked rumors and speculation about the government's plans to hold a constitutional referendum this year. Today's statement in the Milli Majlis by the head of the parliamentary committee on human rights and concurrently the director of the Center for Humanitarian Studies, Zahid Oruj, confirmed that these expectations are not groundless.
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As part of the peace process with Azerbaijan, Armenia has proposed solutions to all agenda issues, stated Armen Grigoryan, Secretary of Armenia's Security Council, on January 23. "We are not asking for peace, we are offering peaceful solutions to all existing issues. For the two unresolved points, we have sent proposals and are waiting for a response from the Azerbaijani side. We hope that we will find solutions," Grigoryan said, according to Armenian media. Meanwhile, the press service of Azerbaijan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs told Turan that "negotiations on the text of the peace agreement are ongoing."
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