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YAP announces candidates for Azerbaijan's Central Election Commission. Mazahir Panahov, chairman since 2000, remains on the list despite expectations of change. Read about the new CEC composition, opposition demands, and the 2024 election context.

Explore the EU’s new Partnership Mission in Armenia (EUPM). Learn how Brussels is supporting Yerevan against hybrid threats, cyberattacks, and disinformation to strengthen democratic institutions ahead of the June elections. A new era of strategic cooperation.

Read about the ongoing struggles of Azerbaijani journalist Polad Aslanov. Sentenced to 13 years, Aslanov faces medical neglect and restricted family access. Explore the international concern over press freedom and human rights in Azerbaijan.

Read about the 4-year prison sentence of Russian IT specialist Alexander Vaysero in Baku for money laundering. Explore how this legal case reflects the complex diplomatic tensions between Azerbaijan and Russia involving digital finance and politics.

A United Nations panel has accused the Belarusian government of orchestrating a state-sanctioned campaign of mass torture and arbitrary detention that amounts to crimes against humanity.

Explore the case of Rufat Safarov, a prominent Azerbaijani human rights defender facing trial in Baku. Learn about the political motives, questionable evidence, and international outcry following his detention on Human Rights Day.

Maksim Polovnikov was stripped of his Russian citizenship and deported to Baku for opposing the war in Ukraine. Read the gripping story of his trial, the "disgrace" of new laws, and his journey toward freedom and a fresh start in Azerbaijan.

The CPT's 2025 annual report documents torture, overcrowding, and police violence in European detention facilities, including Azerbaijan.

The European Court of Human Rights has demanded Azerbaijan provide court rulings on Armenian prisoners held in Baku.

A jailed labour rights activist in Azerbaijan is reportedly facing violence in Prison No. 10, with no investigation announced.

Azerbaijan refused a visa to international rights defender Florian Irminger, continuing its pattern of blocking international monitors.

Journalist Polad Aslanov, currently held at Baku Investigation Isolator, has been denied family visits and his phone rights have been severely restricted, his wife Gulmira Aslanova told Meydan TV on April 21.

Amnesty International's 2026 annual report documents deepening repression in Azerbaijan: political prisoners, media shutdowns, and torture.

Икбал Абилов отвечает на приговор к 18 годам тюрьмы и кампанию в СМИ. Ученый отвергает обвинения в госизмене, критикуя «театр абсурда» и «моральное фиаско» следствия. Острые заявления о правовом климате в Азербайджане и преследовании талышеведения.

Read about the travel ban on Samira Gasimli, wife of imprisoned analyst Azer Gasimli. Human rights monitors view this legal restriction as a strategic effort to silence international advocacy regarding political prisoners in Azerbaijan.

Armenian parliament speaker Alen Simonyan pointed out that reaching true reconciliation depends heavily on freeing the Armenian detainees currently kept in Azerbaijan. He also stressed the need to find out exactly what happened to those who went missing over the years. He shared these thoughts during the Inter-Parliamentary Union Assembly, which took place recently in Istanbul, Turkey.

Bulgaria’s former president, Rumen Radev, looks set for a big comeback. With about 60% of the ballots counted, his Progressive Bulgaria coalition is pulling in 44.6% of the vote—way ahead of what the polls predicted. This puts him in a position to form a government on his own, or at least lead a strong minority. Still, Radev hasn’t dismissed the idea of teaming up with pro-European or smaller parties.

The situation for political activists in Azerbaijan has become critical, especially with the troubling reports from Prison No. 11. Zamin Salayev, an influential member of the Azerbaijan Popular Front Party (APFP), recently made a desperate appeal on social media, stating that his life is in immediate danger. Fellow activist Ceyhun Novruzov claims that Salayev’s protests against unfair rules and lawlessness in the prison have made him a target for harsh treatment.

Back on December 25, 2024, a passenger plane flying from Baku to Grozny dropped off the radar before crashing near Aktau in Kazakhstan. Thirty-eight people died that day, while twenty-nine somehow survived. What followed was a prolonged period of severe diplomatic tension between Baku and Moscow. For well over a year, the remains of that flight stood as a quiet reminder of the complicated relationships and hidden realities across the South Caucasus region.

The delicate geopolitical balance in the Caucasus is facing a new wave of tension as Russia ramps up its rhetoric against Georgia’s aspirations to join the European Union. During a recent briefing, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova delivered a pointed warning: should Tbilisi pursue EU membership, Moscow is prepared to designate Georgia as an "unfriendly state" and trigger a series of "appropriate economic measures" in retaliation.