Over the past decade, authorities in Azerbaijan have prosecuted hundreds of activists, journalists, and public figures on politically motivated charges like drug possession, tax evasion, illegal entrepreneurship, and even treason. In September 2018, the Working Group on a Unified List of Political Prisoners in Azerbaijan presented a list of 130 political prisoners. However, these prisoners…
Freelance journalist covering human rights violations, election fraud, and media freedom violations in Azerbaijan. In addition to journalism, Kurtulus collaborates with organizations such as Index On Censorship, Freedom House, and IPHR.
Ethiopia: The World Movement is thrilled to learn that Dr. Merera Gudina was released on January 17, after serving more than year in pre-trial detention. Dr. Gudina, a scholar and chairman of the Oromo Federalist Congress (OFC), was arrested and accused of violating Ethiopia’s 10-month state of emergency. He was released along with 527 others as part of a larger government amnesty…
Profiles of seven additional political prisoners have been added to our Set Them Free Azerbaijan spotlight page. Unfortunately, this expansion reflects the escalating measures taken by the Azerbaijan government to suppress human rights defenders, journalists, and religious minorities. One of the most notorious examples is the arrest of Afghan Mukhtarli in May 2017. An investigative journalist, Afghan has written…