CAIRO: The Azerbaijani government has implemented a systematic wave of repression on its people in an effort to crush the growing unrest in the Central Asian country as its citizens begin to protest against civic corruption and crackdowns on freedom of speech, press, and political expression. Public dissent has become unacceptable to the current Azerbaijani regime, led by Illham Alivev, according to a report released on Wednesday by Amnesty International. The regime has targeted NGOs, opposition groups, activists, and media outlets that speak out against the hegemony of the regime and its leadership. 17 opposition leaders and activists have been convicted and sentenced for up to three years for organizing anti-government rallies this spring as protests broke out in the capital Baku, according to the London-based human rights organization. Amnesty is calling for their immediate acquittal and release. NGOs are also kept closely in line by the government, which makes the registration of foreign NGOs difficult and tedious while maintaining tight control over domestic organizations. Numerous NGOs were closed by the government following the anti-government protests this past spring. The Azerbaijani government has a stranglehold on the media in Azerbaijan, with an estimated 80 percent of the newspapers and 21 of 23 television stations in the country being owned by the state, which allows the information disseminated throughout the country to be tightly controlled. Azerbaijan banned foreign media outlets from operating in the country or using its airwaves in 2009 and has targeted domestic non-government affiliated media outlets with several repressive laws and policies. A 2009 legislation banned the “abuse of freedom of speech and journalists' rights”. Although the government is not known to have used this law as of yet, violations against it can lead to closure of the media outlet, and thus the government has created a subjective looming presence over all independent media outlets. The government has had a more difficult time curtailing the use of the Internet and social media outlets, which have been used to organize demonstrations as seen in Egypt and Tunisia during the Arab Spring. However, “The government is also currently considering laws that could potentially restrict web users' access to information and criminalizing ‘misinformation', further restricting online freedom of expression,” stated Amnesty in a press release. After acquiring its independence for the former Soviet Union in 1991, Azerbaijan experienced a phase of economic and democratic prosperity. Although Azerbaijan has remained economically stable due to its vast hydrocarbon resources, it is evident that the country is reversing its transition into a stable democracy. “In oil-rich Azerbaijan, 20 years of independence, economic prosperity and relative stability have failed to translate into greater fundamental freedoms for its citizens while the consolidation of authoritarian rule over the last decade has been largely ignored by the outside world,” stated Amnesty. “The Azerbaijan authorities must reverse this trend and their international partners must make it clear that they will not do deals with those who carry out human rights violations,” added the organization. BM
