Under the rule of president Ilham Aliyev, the Republic of Azerbaijan remains one of the most dangerous post-Soviet states for journalists. The South Caucasus state now ranks 162 out of the 180 countries surveyed in the 2015 World Press Freedom index. Independent estimates speak of up to 93 political prisoners—including human rights activists, journalists, members of the extra-parliamentary opposition and, in a chilling new turn, relatives of Aliyev’s exiled opponents.
The Azerbaijani government’s lavish expenses on the 2015 European Games came against a backdrop of decreasing oil prices, and therefore economic fortunes for the Caspian petro-state. Accordingly, Baku has floated the Manat, leading the US dollar to soar in value by 48 per cent against the Azerbaijani currency. Budgets for 2016 are looking increasingly untenable across several states in the region—from Kazakhstan to Russia—leading many to wonder whether Eurasia’s authoritarian governments can continue to pay for social stability and political quiescence with rising living standards.
With Azerbaijan in the spotlight in 2015, attention has naturally fallen on the Aliyev government’s continuing crackdown on civil society. Among other measures, president Aliyev has greatly widened the scope of administrative offences in recent years, making investigative journalism an even costlier business both financially and personally. Many continue to pay the price. Last September saw the sentencing of veteran investigative journalist Khadija Ismayilova, as well as the release of Arif and Leyla Yunus from prison. Both Arif and Leyla remain under house arrest amid fears for their medical condition. Prominent newspaper correspondent Rauf Mirkadirov was sentenced to six years imprisonment on 28 December, accused of spying for neighbouring Armenia, with whom Azerbaijan remains locked in a bitter dispute over Nagorno-Karabakh.
