“GEGHARD”
SCIENTIFIC ANALYTICAL
FOUNDATION
2024
2024
For many years, the Nakhijevan Autonomous Republic was effectively ruled by Vasif Talibov, who has familial ties to the ruling Aliyev family in Azerbaijan. Talibov was the chairman of the Supreme Council of the Nakhijevan Autonomous Republic and managed to take control over not only the political but also the economic system of the region.
In 2003, Human Rights Watch characterized the situation in Nakhijevan as "even more difficult than in other regions of Azerbaijan." In 2011, in an open letter to Ilham Aliyev, it presented the real situation in Nakhijevan. According to this letter, the state of human rights and political freedoms there were deteriorating. Political opponents of the regime faced increasing pressure, and civil society and independent media have almost disappeared.
Foreign news services are also under attack. Newspapers and broadcasts are exclusively state-controlled, and opposition journalists work in difficult conditions. Many Western human rights organizations and opposition journalists continue to report severe restrictions on freedom of travel and access to information in Nakhijevan. The regime relies heavily on security forces and the police to prevent and suppress any public discontent, effectively crushing dissent.
Azerbaijani journalist Malahat Nasibova and her husband have struggled for the protection of human rights in the Nakhijevan Autonomous Republic. They have spoken out against abuses of power, human rights violations, war crimes, and corruption. Malahat Nasibova was also the head of the Center for the Development of Democracy and Public Organizations. She was arrested and subjected to violence for her activities.
In 2009, Malahat Nasibova was awarded the Rafto Prize for her journalistic activities, an award given to human rights defenders who fight oppression worldwide. In 2013, she and her husband Ilgar Nasibov founded the "Nakhijevan Resource Center," where local human rights defenders, journalists, and other organizations could work to improve the human rights situation in Nakhijevan. The center was also known as the "House of Hope" by local residents. However, the Nakhichevan dictatorial regime could not tolerate the existence of such an organization. On August 21, 2014, three men broke into the center and severely beat Ilgar Nasibov, the director of the center. After this incident, the couple was forced to stop the activities of the organization and leave the country.
Indeed, Azerbaijan is a dangerous place for independent journalists and human rights defenders, and the situation in Nakhijevan is dire. After the departure of the Nasibovs, independent media and human rights organizations operating in the region were shut down and are now almost non-existent.