Why the Islamic Republic Still Stands | Journal of Democracy After January’s mass protests, Iran seemed on the verge of revolutionary upheaval. How is it weathering the U.S.-Israeli assault?

Why the Islamic Republic Still Stands

www.journalofdemocracy.org/online-exclu...

GD Announces New Restrictions on Receiving Grants, Party Membership, ‘External Lobbying’ - Civil Georgia The ruling Georgian Dream party has announced a series of legislative amendments that would impose f

Georgian Dream rolled out new series of restrictions, extending scope of "grants" needing government approval, introducing jail sentences for grants-related offences, announcing bans on party membership, and criminalizing "external lobbying," among others:

Slavoj Žižek and renowned scholars demand freedom for Bahruz Samadov | Free Bahruz Campaign Support unjustly imprisoned Azerbaijani scholar Bahruz Samadov!

freebahruzcampaign.org/news/zizek-s...

Plenary Session - Multimedia Centre The multimedia platform of the European Parliament is the official public available repository of the media production of the Secretariat of the European Parliament, managed by the Directorate-General...

"In Azerbaijan, research is a risky activity, and it is deemed high treason. This is what happened to Bahruz Samadov and Igbal Abilov.”

Watch the European Parliament discussion on the human rights situation in Azerbaijan (started at 20:26):

multimedia.europarl.europa.eu/en/webstream...

Dark blue website banner with the headline “The European Parliament Must Continue to Act on Azerbaijan” in large gold text. Below, a short introductory paragraph refers to a deepening human rights crisis in Azerbaijan, noting more than 400 political prisoners and the need for a new European Parliament resolution. A red “Read More” button appears centred beneath the text.

The European Parliament is to debate a new resolution on the human rights crisis in Azerbaijan this week 🇪🇺⚖️🇦🇿

@europarl.europa.eu should use it to adopt benchmarks aimed at fixing a roadmap for the Commission and EEAS’ engagement with Azerbaijan.

➡️ Learn more free-anar.site/the-european...

Peace Control: The Authoritarian Illusion of Stability in Azerbaijan | Heinrich Böll Stiftung | Tbilisi - South Caucasus Region Through the Armenia-Azerbaijan peace process, this article challenges “peace at all costs,” revealing how authoritarian peace becomes institutionalized at the expense of justice and public participati...

Peace Control: The Authoritarian Illusion of Stability in Azerbaijan

ge.boell.org/en/2025/12/0...

A new report tracks and documents how the European Union is trading away its principles for energy and connectivity with Azerbaijan

free-anar.site/wp-content/u...

@endrepression-az.org

A Baku court has placed Ali Karimli under arrest. A Baku court has ordered pretrial detention for Ali Karimli, leader of the Popular Front Party of Azerbaijan, accused of committing acts aimed at the violent seizure of power. The PFPA has denied the ...

Azerbaijan's main opposition leader Ali Karimli & his advisor Mammad Ibrahim have been sentenced to 2.5 months pretrial detention over "attempting to violently seize power" - with no credible evidence. Done by the EU-emboldened regime hostile to its own society. www.eng.kavkaz-uzel.eu/articles/69982

1/ According to a BBC investigation, a toxic compound used in World War I, “camite,” was used to disperse demonstrators at protests in Georgia in November–December 2024. It was mixed with the water used in the cannons.

Opposition leader detained in Azerbaijan's continuing crackdown on dissent Azerbaijani authorities have detained opposition leader Ali Karimli, according to his adviser

Washinton Post reporting on the arrest of Ali Karimli: www.washingtonpost.com/national/202...

It is day 2 of detention of Azerbaijan's main opposition leader Ali Karimli by security services. He is reportedly charged with attempting to violently seize power. Officials & media push narrative of his links to Russia, presumably to get societal & Western acquiescence for crackdown on the party.

Azerbaijani police raid home of leading opposition figure amid coup attempt probe Police in Azerbaijan conducted a search on Saturday at the home of Ali Karimli, the leader of one of the country's main opposition parties, amid a widening probe into a suspected coup attempt to oust ...

Reuters report on the detention of Ali Karimli, leader of Azerbaijan’s single largest opposition party Popular Front:

www.reuters.com/world/asia-p...

Let’s see which EU country will be the first to reward it by another energy contract.

Azerbaijan arrests main opposition leader Ali Karimli, his advisor Mammad Ibrahim and several other associates. This will effectively end any non-systemic opposition presence in the country, following total eradication of independent media & civic organizations. Towards full-fledged totalitarianism.

Azerbaijan isn’t just silencing critics at home — it’s reaching abroad. Exiled journalists, analysts & activists are being targeted with arrest warrants and trumped-up charges. www.hrw.org/news/2025/11... Baku should #StopTransnationalRepression, says @hrw

Azerbaijan deletes plan for detailed surveillance system minutes after publication The plan outlined how the State Security Service would collect and access personal data.

Azerbaijan’s presidential website has briefly published, then quietly removed, a detailed regulation outlining how the State Security Service would collect and access personal data on citizens and residents through a new centralised system.
oc-media.org/azerbaijan-d...

Democracy Needs Data: Keep the Caucasus Barometer Georgia Alive In Georgia, independent and reliable data is under threat. At a time of political change, economic uncertainty, and rising misinformation, trusted facts are more essential than ever. For nearly two de...

Caucasus Barometer has always been the most reliable and freely accessible public opinion data source for the South Caucasus. Now, CRRC-Georgia needs our support to continue doing this critically important work. I encourage everyone to donate: gogetfunding.com/democracy-ne...

Opinion | Georgia’s self-avowed liberals undermine themselves by justifying Israeli war crimes To support Israel unconditionally is to betray Georgia’s history, and to normalise the logic of occupation, including our own.

⭕ Georgia’s self-avowed liberals undermine themselves by justifying Israeli war crimes. - Opinion by Tazo Sozashvili.

oc-media.org/opinion-geor...

NEW!!! Senator Shaheen Staff Hand-Delivers Letters to Detained Journalists and Lawyer in Azerbaijan

Opinion | My friend Bahruz is in prison for advocating peace — now that’s state policy Azerbaijan should align its actions to its commitment to peace — free Bahruz Samadov now.

🅾️ Opinion: Azerbaijan should align its actions to its commitment to peace — free Bahruz Samadov now.

oc-media.org/opinion-my-f...

via @ralexdc.bsky.social

From Conflict to Commerce: ‘Trump Route’ to Link Azerbaijan, Armenia in New Peace Deal

www.kyivpost.com/post/57664?f...

- Azerbaijan and Armenia will declare exiting OSCE Minsk Group
- both AZ and ARM will sign bilateral documents with the US to advance relations
- contentious issues (prisoners in Baku, Armenian constitution) will be left to next stages
- Trump admin worked on these agreements since late February.

at tomorrow’s US-Azerbaijan-Armenia summit in Washington DC:

- the sides will announce agreement on “Trump Route for International Peace and Prosperity” (TRIPP) with American “commercial” involvement
- Aliyev & Pashinyan will sign joint declaration detailing concrete pathway for final peace

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Ulviyya Ali’s interview with Bahruz Samadov Originally published by AbzasMedia in Azerbaijani. The translation to English is part of my efforts to highlight the unjust arrest of my…

Even in prison, @ulviyyaali.bsky.social doesn't stop doing journalism. Here is her interview with Bahruz Samadov. medium.com/@cavidaga/ul...

Putin: “I’ve already said that Russians and Ukrainians are one people. In that sense, all of Ukraine is ours. … We have this old rule, that wherever a Russian steps foot — that’s our territory.”

Whatever this is, it’s not a president preparing his people for compromise.

Among those sentenced today is a very good friend of mine, Farid Mehralizada, who was not connected to Abzas but was inserted into the case just for being the finest and most vocally critical economy analyst in the country. Here is his final speech at the trial: freefarid.info/f%c9%99rid-m...

‘Eternal president’ and transitionary motive in Azerbaijan’s snap election Alongside repressions, or as a result of it, Azerbaijani leadership has over the past thirty years managed to acquire the passive acquiescence of different generations of the population.

The authorities tried geopoliticizing repressions by propagating conspiracies over connections of media outlets to Western funding agencies. Real purpose, however, was cementing dictatorial rule, with no room for critical activity that was hitherto tolerated.

globalvoices.org/2024/01/04/e...

The Abzas case marked the outset of havoc on the independent media ecosystem in Azerbaijan: subsequently, all other independent outlets - MeydanTV, ToplumTV, Kanal 13 and Turan Agency - became targets of heavy repression, with over 25 editors/journalists arrested, combined, in less than two years.

Following 1.5 years of sham, vindictive investigations & trials, Abzas Media managers & journalists have today been sentenced to 7-9 years in prison. The fabricated charges are smuggling & tax evasion, but this severe punishment is unleashed for Abzas team's courage to uncover grand corruption.

Azerbaijan hands down lengthy sentences to Abzas Media team Abzas Media was one of the last independent Azerbaijan news sites operating in the country.

THREAD: The ongoing severe repression in Azerbaijan has slipped behind all the regional headlines, but it should not remain unnoticed. The Abzas Case marked a tipping point in the Aliyev government's determination to extinguish all independent media.

oc-media.org/azerbaijan-h...