This Human Rights Watch video shows why the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) should speak out against Azerbaijan's appalling record on freedom of expression in the lead-up to the Eurovision Song Contest. The EBU declined to show the video at a workshop about media rights in Azerbaijan it organized on May 2, 2012, citing technical reasons. The EBU is an association of public broadcasters with a stated commitment to free expression. It oversees the Eurovision Song Contest.

The government of Azerbaijan has forcibly evicted homeowners and demolished their homes for urban development projects in the capital of Baku. Dozens of families have been evicted from the neighborhood where the arena for the May 2012 Eurovision Song Contest is being built. Human Rights Watch has documented the authorities’ illegal expropriation of properties and forcible evictions of dozens of families in four Baku neighborhoods, at times without warning or in the middle of the night. The authorities subsequently demolished homes, sometimes with residents’ possessions inside. The government has refused to provide homeowners fair compensation for the properties, many of which are in highly desirable locations even though Azerbaijani law stipulates that market value should be paid in compensation for a forced sale. In many cases, including in the National Flag Square area, the government has cut services or begun dismantling apartment buildings in which some residents remained. These measures make the buildings uninhabitable and compel residents to leave.

World Report 2012, Q & A - Cairo Question and answer session at the press conference of the launch of Human Rights Watch 2012 World Report. Cairo, Egypt, Sunday January 22 2012.

On December 17, 2010, a 26-year-old Tunisian man set himself on fire after abusive police confiscated his unlicensed vegetable cart, his only source of income. This desperate act of protest inspired a movement that swept the country and ignited calls for reform throughout the region. Thousands of Tunisians took to the streets to denounce their tyrannical government and, within weeks, successfully ousted President Zine el-Abidine Ben Ali from power. On January 25, 2011, Egyptians came together by the thousands to launch a massive pro-democratic movement that would, in 18 days, end President Hosni Mubarak’s 30-year reign. Emboldened antigovernment protests quickly erupted in Jordan, Yemen, Algeria, Bahrain,
 Iran, Iraq, Syria, Oman and Libya as well.