Information of the Press Service Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Azerbaijan

On November 27, it marked one year since the arrest of Kanal-13 editor Aziz Orudjev, who was detained just a week after the arrest of employees from another media outlet, Abzas Media. According to Orudjev’s family, his health has significantly deteriorated during his time in detention. Over 20 journalists are currently imprisoned in Azerbaijan.

In Azerbaijan, the heads of several websites have been arrested on suspicion of extorting money from entrepreneurs, the Ministry of Internal Affairs (MIA) reported. Complaints were filed with the MIA's Main Department for Combating Organized Crime regarding the actions of the website owners: Seymur Mammadov of Aztvnews.az, Zaur Ahmedov of Qaynar-xett.az, Eldaniz Mejdanov of Postbaku.net, and Elvin Gurbanov of Aja.az. The investigation revealed that they were operating as an organized group, extorting money by threatening to publish defamatory information about the entrepreneurs.

The "Pressure on Civil Society and Independent Media in Azerbaijan" will be discussed at a meeting of the European Parliament's Subcommittee on Human Rights on December 5. In a resolution adopted on October 24, the European Parliament condemned the crackdown on activists, journalists, and opposition leaders, which has notably intensified in Azerbaijan over the past year.

The European Platform for Democratic Elections (EPDE) has published a report titled "How Democrats Deal with Autocrats: The Elections in Azerbaijan Were Rigged with International Assistance."