The PEN International nongovernmental organization currently lists seven jailed writers in Azerbaijan. Hilal Mamedov, a journalist and activist for the ethnic Talysh minority, is among them, and could face more than a decade in prison.
Unlike fully authoritarian regimes like Uzbekistan or North Korea, Azerbaijan does not want to close itself off from the world. So, Sarah Kendzior argues, holding international conferences in places like Baku opens up the possibility of respectful critical dialogue in an environment where dialogue rarely takes place.
Far from the wealthy neighborhoods built on Azerbaijan's oil boom, residents of the area known as "Shanghai" live just meters from the railroad tracks. People in this crowded quarter are used to their homes rattling as trains pass, and to the dangers that come with their location. (Video by Nazrin Nazirova of RFE/RL's Azerbaijani Service)
Baku is planning to officially protest the visit by Uruguayan delegation of Azerbaijan's breakaway region of Nagorno-Karabakh.
Baku appears to have found the secret recipe for protecting architecturally significant buildings from demolition.
European Commission Vice President Neelie Kroes of the Netherlands was barred from visiting a penitentiary hospital in Baku, despite President Ilham Aliyev's permission to do so.
An official of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe has come to Baku to deliver scathing criticism of Azerbaijan’s poor record on freedom of speech.
RFE/RL took the political temperature in its broadcast region ahead of the November 6 U.S. presidential election. According to online polls, RFE/RL readers overwhelmingly expressed support for Barack Obama. Only Belarusians and Ukrainians indicated preference for his Republican challenger Mitt Romney.
From Afghanistan to Israel to Europe, the international community has welcomed the reelection of U.S. President Barack Obama to a second four-year term in office.
Azerbaijan's parliament has adopted amendments to the law on public gatherings which significantly increase fines for illegal demonstrations.
The Russian Interior Ministry says the entire leadership of the Khoroshevo-Mnevniki district police department in Moscow has been fired.
Azerbaijan’s State Border Guarding Service says an Iranian national was wounded and arrested after a shootout between Azerbaijani border guards and a group of armed individuals.
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