Azerbaijani opposition activists and journalists have launched a hunger strike to protest the recent pressure on the media and opposition parties from the State Committee for the Management of State Properties. The Committee is demanding that a building located in the heart of Baku, at... MORE

Last week the Ministry of National Security of Azerbaijan broke up a transnational network funneling illegal drugs from Iran toward Europe via Azerbaijan. Two citizens of Azerbaijan were arrested in relation to this case, and authorities confiscated 19 kilograms of hashish from them. They had... MORE

Parliamentary elections in November 2005 brought severe negative consequences for the Azerbaijani opposition. Most opposition parties are in a state of collapse; others have seen their activities stagnate because they have no results to show for the past 12 years. Yet, recent events suggest that... MORE

Public protests have erupted in Azerbaijan after the chair of the Azerbaijan branch of the Helsinki Citizens’ Assembly visited the disputed Karabakh region and met with the leadership of the unrecognized Karabakh republic. Arzu Abdullayeva and several young activists from her organization went to Armenia’s... MORE

Since June, officials in Azerbaijan and Armenia have been at odds over the question of who caused massive fires burning Azerbaijani territories currently under Armenian control. The fires have become an environmental disaster for the region burning vast fields, forests, and some vacated residential areas... MORE

The ongoing military operations between Israel and Lebanon have sparked popular protests and heated debates in Azerbaijan. Although a predominantly Muslim country, Azerbaijan prides itself on being a secular country and having strong ties with Israel and the United States. Nevertheless, the high rate of... MORE

The July 13 opening ceremony of the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline marked the beginning a new era in the history of Azerbaijan, Georgia, and Turkey. Azerbaijan is already begun to collect dividends from its oil sales, as reflected in a recent public announcement by Azerbaijani officials on... MORE

In recent weeks, more and more political parties, members of the intelligentsia, and media outlets have begun to criticize the haphazard, chaotic construction boom in Azerbaijan’s capital city, Baku. Increasing oil revenues and the growing demand for new apartments have turned the city into a... MORE

On Thursday, July 13, the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan (BTC) pipeline will be inaugurated at a ceremony in Ceyhan, Turkey. More than 40 high-level officials from some 30 countries plan to attend (Trend.az, July 11). President Ilham Aliyev of Azerbaijan and President Mikheil Saakashvili of Georgia have already... MORE

After months of mutual accusations, arrests, investigations, and political statements, the Turkish electricity company Barmek has broken its contract with the Azerbaijani government to manage electricity supplies for Baku, the capital, and the northern regions of the country. “I did not want to do it,”... MORE