The Death of Journalism in Azerbaijan

Independent media in Azerbaijan and international rights groups have accused the government of detaining the journalists because of their work and creating a regulatory environment that makes it almost impossible for them to operate legally. 

Rachel Denber, deputy director of Human Rights Watch’s Europe and Central Asia Division, described “the speed and comprehensiveness” of the current crackdown on journalists in Azerbaijan as the greatest since the country’s independence from the Soviet Union in 1991.

Reporters Without Borders’ latest World Press Freedom Index, released in May 2025, ranked Azerbaijan 167th out of 180 countries, citing the “new wave of fierce repression against the country’s last remaining journalists.”

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