On September 4, 2016, Azerbaijani civil society leaders signed a letter to the Secretary General of the Council of Europe (COE), Thorbjørn Jagland, urging him to call upon the COE’s Venice Commission to comment on Azerbaijan’s upcoming Referendum Act. The letter was signed by Intiqam Aliyev, Emin Huseynov, Rasul Jafarov, Anar Mammadli, and Dr. Leyla…
The World Movement For Democracy (WMD) is pleased to be celebrating the release of an Azeri investigative journalist, Khadija Ismayilova, and prominent Bahraini activist, Zainab Al-Khawaja. Ismayilova served as head of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty’s Azerbaijan service and published extremely detailed accounts of rampant corruption by President Aliyev and his family, making her a target…
For two years, Azerbaijan has cracked down on civil society and independent media, detaining more than 100 people. However, on March 17, 2016, the government of Azerbaijan released more than a dozen political prisoners. The newly released prisoners include: journalist Rauf Mirgadirov; youth movement activist Rashadat Akhundov of N!DA; Mahammad Azizov of N!DA; Rashad Hasanov…
Freedom House has published its latest report on the state of global freedom titled “Anxious Dictators, Wavering Democracies.” The report reveals the continuing world-wide slide of political rights and civil liberties, as authoritarian leaders continue to crack down on civil society and dissent. Over the last decade, the most significant global reversals have been in…