Azerbaijan’s crackdown on social media

Social media users are arrested for posts while criminal investigations begin into four media outlets.

Recently, 14 people

were arrested

in Azerbaijan for posts on social media about the recent nationwide

power outage

 and the

attack

on the mayor of Ganja, Elmar Valiyev. The social media users have been sentenced to 10-30 days administrative arrest.

An additional three social media users face criminal charges for their posts. In a

press release

, the Prosecutor General’s Office accused them of “supporting terrorism” and “disrupting the socio-political stability” in Azerbaijan, among other offenses.

Meanwhile, criminal investigations have been opened into the activities of four news websites. Criminal.az and Bastainfo.com are accused of knowingly spreading false information, while Topxeber.az and Fia.az stand accused of spreading unfounded, sensational claims in order to confuse the public. The Baku Municipal Prosecutor’s Office has already

interrogated

the chief editor of Criminal.az, Anar Mammadov, and the director of Bastainfo.com, Mustafa Hajibayli.

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