Editing Azerbaijan (section)

===Human rights and freedom===
{{Main|Human rights in Azerbaijan}}
[[File:Rashadat Akhundov.jpg|thumb|[[Rashadat Akhundov]], the co-founder of [[Nida Civic Movement]], was sentenced to eight years of imprisonment on 6 May 2014.]]
The constitution claims to guarantee freedom of speech, but this is denied in practice. After several years of decline in press and media freedom, in 2014, the media environment deteriorated rapidly under a governmental campaign to silence any opposition and criticism, even while the country led the Committee of Ministers of the [[Council of Europe]] (May–November 2014). Spurious legal charges and impunity in violence against journalists have remained the norm.<ref name=pace>Parliamentary Assembly of the [[Council of Europe]], [http://www.cfom.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/PACE-HORSLEY-FINAL-2014-REPORT-AAC-25_14-Flego-protection-of-media-freedom-18-June.pdf The Protection of media freedom in Europe] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160702011459/http://www.cfom.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/PACE-HORSLEY-FINAL-2014-REPORT-AAC-25_14-Flego-protection-of-media-freedom-18-June.pdf |date=2 July 2016 }}.Background report prepared by Mr William Horsley, special representative for media freedom of the [[Association of European Journalists]]</ref> All foreign broadcasts are banned in the country.<ref name=FH>[[Freedom House]], [https://freedomhouse.org/report/freedom-press/2015/azerbaijan Azerbaijan] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150910091140/https://freedomhouse.org/report/freedom-press/2015/azerbaijan |date=10 September 2015 }} 2015 Press Freedom report</ref> According to the 2013 [[Freedom House]] Freedom of the Press report, Azerbaijan's press freedom status is "not free", and Azerbaijan ranks 177th out of 196 countries.<ref>{{cite web|title=Freedom of the Press 2013|url=https://freedomhouse.org/sites/default/files/FOTP%202013%20Full%20Report.pdf |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221009/https://freedomhouse.org/sites/default/files/FOTP%202013%20Full%20Report.pdf |archive-date=2022-10-09 |url-status=live|publisher=Freedom House}}</ref> [[Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty]] and [[Voice of America]] are banned in Azerbaijan.<ref>{{cite web|title=Threat to retransmission of BBC, Voice of America and Radio Liberty/Radio Free Europe|date=17 October 2006|url=https://rsf.org/en/news/threat-retransmission-bbc-voice-america-and-radio-libertyradio-free-europe|publisher=Reporters Without Borders|access-date=25 June 2016|archive-date=19 September 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160919083631/https://rsf.org/en/news/threat-retransmission-bbc-voice-america-and-radio-libertyradio-free-europe|url-status=dead}}</ref> Discrimination against [[LGBT rights in Azerbaijan|LGBT people]] in Azerbaijan is widespread.<ref>{{cite news |title=Azerbaijan: Anti-Gay Crackdown |url=https://www.hrw.org/news/2017/10/03/azerbaijan-anti-gay-crackdown |publisher=Human Rights Watch |date=3 October 2017 |access-date=18 August 2019 |archive-date=30 July 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190730175440/https://www.hrw.org/news/2017/10/03/azerbaijan-anti-gay-crackdown |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Azerbaijan named most anti-LGBT+ country in Europe |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/azerbaijan-worst-country-gay-lgbt-ilga-europe-law-a8912456.html |work=The Independent |date=13 May 2019 |access-date=18 August 2019 |archive-date=18 August 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190818121447/https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/azerbaijan-worst-country-gay-lgbt-ilga-europe-law-a8912456.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

Christianity is officially recognized. All religious communities are required to register to be allowed to meet, under the risk of imprisonment. This registration is often denied. "Racial discrimination contributes to the country's lack of religious freedom, since many of the Christians are ethnic Armenian or Russian, rather than Azeri Muslim".<ref>{{cite web |title=Azerbaijan |url=https://www.vomcanada.com/azerbaijan.htm |website=The Voice of the Martyrs Canada |access-date=9 March 2020 |archive-date=28 September 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200928094805/https://www.vomcanada.com/azerbaijan.htm |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=2018 Report on International Religious Freedom: Azerbaijan |url=https://www.state.gov/reports/2018-report-on-international-religious-freedom/azerbaijan/ |website=US Department of State |access-date=9 March 2020 |archive-date=18 October 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201018124006/https://www.state.gov/reports/2018-report-on-international-religious-freedom/azerbaijan/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

During the last few years,{{when|date=December 2017}} three journalists were killed and several prosecuted in trials described as unfair by international human rights organizations. Azerbaijan had the largest number of journalists imprisoned in Europe in 2015, according to the [[Committee to Protect Journalists]], and is the 5th most censored country in the world, ahead of Iran and China.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Ognianova|first1=Nina|title=Baku 2015: Press freedom, Azerbaijan, and the European Games|date=11 June 2015|url=https://cpj.org/blog/2015/06/baku-2015-press-freedom-azerbaijan-and-the-europea.php|publisher=Committee to Protect Journalists|access-date=23 February 2016|archive-date=3 March 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303070617/https://cpj.org/blog/2015/06/baku-2015-press-freedom-azerbaijan-and-the-europea.php|url-status=live}}</ref> Some critical journalists have been [[COVID-19 misinformation#Efforts to combat misinformation|arrested]] for their coverage of the [[COVID-19 pandemic in Azerbaijan]].<ref>{{cite news |title=Azerbaijan: Crackdown on Critics Amid Pandemic |url=https://www.hrw.org/news/2020/04/16/azerbaijan-crackdown-critics-amid-pandemic |publisher=Human Rights Watch |date=16 April 2020 |access-date=17 May 2020 |archive-date=21 May 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200521213340/https://www.hrw.org/news/2020/04/16/azerbaijan-crackdown-critics-amid-pandemic |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Azerbaijan abuses quarantine rules to jail critical journalists and bloggers |url=https://ipi.media/azerbaijan-abuses-quarantine-rules-to-jail-critical-journalists-and-bloggers/ |publisher=[[International Press Institute]] |date=23 April 2020 |access-date=17 May 2020 |archive-date=3 May 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200503130216/https://ipi.media/azerbaijan-abuses-quarantine-rules-to-jail-critical-journalists-and-bloggers/ |url-status=dead }}</ref>

A report by an [[Amnesty International]] researcher in October 2015 points to "...the severe deterioration of human rights in Azerbaijan over the past few years. Sadly Azerbaijan has been allowed to get away with unprecedented levels of repression and in the process almost wipe out its civil society."<ref>{{cite web|last1=Nozadze|first1=Natalia|title=Azerbaijan closes its doors|url=https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2015/10/azerbaijan-closes-its-doors/|website=News|date=8 October 2015|publisher=Amnesty International|access-date=15 June 2016|archive-date=17 June 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160617160207/https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2015/10/azerbaijan-closes-its-doors/|url-status=live}}</ref> Amnesty's 2015/16 annual report<ref>{{cite web|last1=Amnesty|first1=International|title=Annual report on Azerbaijan|url=https://www.amnesty.org/en/countries/europe-and-central-asia/azerbaijan/|publisher=Amnesty International|access-date=15 June 2016|archive-date=17 June 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160617162639/https://www.amnesty.org/en/countries/europe-and-central-asia/azerbaijan/|url-status=live}}</ref> on the country stated "... persecution of political dissent continued. Human rights organizations remained unable to resume their work. At least 18 prisoners of conscience remained in detention at the end of the year. Reprisals against independent journalists and activists persisted both in the country and abroad, while their family members also faced harassment and arrests. International human rights monitors were barred and expelled from the country. Reports of torture and other ill-treatment persisted."<ref>{{cite web |title=Amnesty International Report 2015/16 – Azerbaijan |url=https://www.refworld.org/docid/56d05b753f.html |publisher=Amnesty International |access-date=29 April 2022 |date=24 February 2016 |via=Refworld |archive-date=26 March 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230326035918/https://www.refworld.org/docid/56d05b753f.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

''[[The Guardian]]'' reported in April 2017 that "Azerbaijan's ruling elite operated a secret $2.9bn (£2.2bn) scheme to pay prominent Europeans, buy luxury goods and launder money through a network of opaque British companies .... Leaked data shows that the Azerbaijani leadership, accused of serial human rights abuses, systemic corruption and rigging elections, made more than 16,000 covert payments from 2012 to 2014. Some of this money went to politicians and journalists, as part of an international lobbying operation to deflect criticism of Azerbaijan's president, Ilham Aliyev, and to promote a positive image of his oil-rich country." There was no suggestion that all recipients were aware of the source of the money as it arrived via a disguised route.<ref name="Gdn4917">{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/sep/04/uk-at-centre-of-secret-3bn-azerbaijani-money-laundering-and-lobbying-scheme|title=UK at centre of secret $3bn Azerbaijani money laundering and lobbying scheme|last1=Harding|first1=Luke|last2=Barr|first2=Caelainn|last3=Nagapetyants|first3=Dina|date=4 September 2017|work=The Guardian|access-date=26 December 2017}}</ref>