• Azerbaijan: Journalist Viciously Attacked by Police
    Press release
    Apr 19, 2012
    A prominent Azerbaijani journalist was viciously attacked by police and security guards on the outskirts of Baku on April 18, 2012, demonstrating the government’s ugly disregard for media freedoms in the final weeks before the Eurovision song contest is to be held in the city.
  • Armenia: Investigate Mob Attack on Local NGO
    Press release
    Apr 17, 2012

    The authorities should immediately conduct a thorough investigation into an attack against a leading human rights organization in Armenia’s northern town of Vanadzor.

  • Azerbaijan: Concerns regarding Freedom of the Media and Freedom of Expression
    Backgrounder Briefing
    Apr 12, 2012
    Over 1,600 journalists from all over the world will come to Azerbaijan to cover the Eurovision Song Contest and related events in the coming months, yet Azerbaijan remains hostile towards free media and other forms of free expression. Independent journalists, human rights defenders, and others seeking to express their opinions, investigate issues of public interest, or criticize government authorities have been attacked, harassed, threatened, and imprisoned. Police have violently dispersed protests, beating and arresting peaceful demonstrators and organizers.
  • Azerbaijan: Ensure Detained Journalists Access to Lawyer, Family
    Press release
    Mar 31, 2012
    The Azerbaijani authorities should immediately allow two television journalists facing criminal charges access to their lawyer and family, and transfer them to a regular detention facility.
  • Azerbaijan: Investigate Alleged Ill-Treatment by Police
    Press release
    Mar 21, 2012
    The Azerbaijani authorities should thoroughly and impartially investigate the alleged beating by police of two young musicians detained during a March 17, 2012 protest in Baku and make certain there is no further ill-treatment.
  • Azerbaijan: Homeowners Evicted for City Beautification
    Press release
    Feb 29, 2012
    (Baku) – The government of Azerbaijan has forcibly evicted homeowners and demolished their homes for urban development projects in Baku, the capital, Human Rights Watch said in a report released today. Dozens of families have been evicted from the neighborhood where the arena for the May 2012 Eurovision Song Contest is being built.
  • Azerbaijan: Illegal Evictions Ahead of Eurovision
    Press release
    Feb 17, 2012
    Azerbaijani authorities have begun the forcible eviction of residents to demolish the last standing building in the neighborhood of the capital, Baku, where the 2012 Eurovision song contest is to be.
  • Azerbaijan: Rights Abuse Stains International Standing
    Press release
    Jan 22, 2012
    Azerbaijan’s human rights record deteriorated in 2011 as the government cracked down on all forms of protests even as it sought to enhance its international prestige, Human Rights Watch said in its World Report 2012.
  • Send the Caucasus a Strong Message from Paris
    Commentary
    Oct 6, 2011
    Human rights need to be high on President Sarkozy’s agenda for his lightning-trip through the South Caucasus.
  • Azerbaijan: Letter to Minister of Justice Regarding Lawyers' Rights
    Letter
    Sep 23, 2011
    I am writing to express concern regarding apparently politically motivated disciplinary and criminal sanctions taken against two lawyers in Azerbaijan, which undermine their independence as members of the legal profession and create obstacles to their work.