The National Council of Democratic Forces (NCDF) of Azerbaijan condemned the massive repression of independent media. We are talking about the arrest of employees of the publications Abzas Media and Toplum TV, as well as civil activists.

The statement by human rights activists cites the names of those arrested, including the founder of Toplum TV Alasgar Mammadli, the speaker of Platform III Republic and the head of the Institute for Democratic Initiatives Akif Gurbanov and others.

“This wave of repression is an attempt to eliminate the few remaining islands of freedom in the media space of Azerbaijan and eliminate the last remnants of freedom of speech in general from the life of society. In Azerbaijan, engaging in opposition political and independent journalistic activities is considered a crime. However, attempts to create a third twin of North Korea and Turkmenistan in the European political and geographical space in the 21st century is a pipe dream,” the NCDF said in a statement.

The applicants called on the people of Azerbaijan to fight for democratic changes, and international organizations to influence the authorities to stop repression.