“GEGHARD”
SCIENTIFIC ANALYTICAL
FOUNDATION
2025
2025
In Azerbaijan, silencing journalists and activists is not limited to arrests and imprisonment. Through wiretapping and gaining access to mobile phones, the Azerbaijani authorities monitor their entire activities, obtain personal data, and threaten to publish it. This has become a standard procedure in that country.
The most well-known case of this practice involves Khadija Ismayilova, a human rights activist and journalist at Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty's Azerbaijani service. Between 2010 and 2012, she investigated corruption within the Aliyev family, leading to threats against her, such as "Stop what you arre doing, or you will be disgraced." Subsequently, the Azerbaijani authorities took concrete steps, releasing private videos of Ismayilova, secretly recorded in her home. This was followed by a smear campaign in pro-government media, portraying her as a traitor and an agent of foreign powers, including Armenians.
“Sometimes I feel they just use my face as a filler on TV. Whenever there is a talk of traitors, they just show my face, without even mentioning my name,” Ismayilova said.
The persecution of Ismayilova did not end after the scandal. In October 2014, she was banned from leaving the country, and in December, she was arrested on charges of "inciting suicide." The Azerbaijani authorities even forced Ismailova's former colleague to write a complaint against her. Later, the colleague withdrew the complaint, but the authorities brought new charges against Ismailova: embezzlement, illegal business, and abuse of power. In 2015, Ismailova was sentenced to 7.5 years of imprisonment. After appeals and widespread international reaction, in May 2016, the sentence was changed to 3.5 years of conditional sentenec, and the ban on leaving the country remained in force until 2021.
Although international organizations and countries, including the United States reacted to the persecution of Ismayilova, it has not deterred the Azerbaijani authorities from continuing to pursue and restrict her activities. In particular, in 2021, the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP) revealed that the Azerbaijani authorities used the Israeli Pegasus spyware to surveil opposition figures, journalists, activists, and their relatives.
The program conducted wiretapping, gained access to mobile phone data, and recorded videos without the owner's knowledge. Among other journalists, Khadija Ismayilova was also targeted by the Azerbaijani authorities using this program.
“We were thinking about how to keep our conversations private. We were recommending different programs and tools to each other, but yesterday I realized there is no way out. If you are not locked in an iron dome, they will find a way in,” the journalist and human rights defender said after learning about being wiretapped by Pegasus.
The methods used against Ismayilova have also been used against other journalists to silence them. In 2019, in Azerbaijan, private photos and videos of 17-year-old activist and journalist Fatima Myovlamly were published. Before the publication of these videos, she was abducted by law enforcement officers, held in custody for 5 days, and subjected to pressure.
Another activist, Ilkin Rustamzade, was threatened with the publication of his wife's photos. After the threats, Rustamzade continued his opposition activities; as a result, his wife's photos and phone number were leaked to the internet. Months later, photos of Rustamzade's wife and her ex-boyfriend were also published. Against the backdrop of public condemnation, the couple divorced.
Both Myovlamly and Rustamzade are among the journalists whom the authorities have spied using the "Pegasus" program. Infections with "Pegasus" are a "new" method for the Azerbaijani authorities. Previously, it was revealed that the authorities monitored phone calls and correspondence of "Azercell" mobile operator subscribers through a special spy device. Even in 2009, an ordinary Azerbaijani citizen was invited to the National Security Service of Azerbaijan and subjected to pressure for "daring" to vote for the representative of Armenia in "Eurovision".
In addition to threats of publishing personal data, physical force was also used to silence journalists, both during arrests or imprisonment, and without detention. These acts of violence have been systematic and often carried out with extreme cruelty. For example, in 2017, journalist Nijat Amiraslanov was tortured by law enforcement officers, who removed his teeth.
"His hands and feet were shaking. We saw that he had no teeth at all," said Amiraslanov's lawyer.
In September 2023, journalist Nurlan Gahramanly was also forced through physical violence not to make anti-war posts. Previously, during the 2020 war, he was accused of collaborating with Armenian special services, which is also one of the common methods used to discredit journalists and initiate cases against them.
The facts presented are only a small part of the cases of journalist oppression in Azerbaijan. Under the Aliyev dictatorship, these continue and are gaining new momentum.