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Category: Azerbaijan

  • Shots Ring Out: On The Front Line In A Divided Karabakh Village

    TAGHAVARD, Nagorno-Karabakh — The war in Nagorno-Karabakh may be over, but the gunfights are not.

    The village of Taghavard lies at the end of a winding road 45 minutes southeast of Stepanakert, the main city in Nagorno-Karabakh and the capital of the ethnic Armenians’ self-declared Republic of Artsakh.

    Taghavard is a sprawling place that had about 1,300 inhabitants before the war started in September. The rickety village’s houses stretch out for 4 kilometers along either side of the main road that defines the hamlet.

    Before one has traveled even half that distance, however, the tranquil rural scenery is interrupted.

    The road is suddenly cut off by a checkpoint manned by soldiers of the “Artsakh Defense Army” (as the self-proclaimed republic’s armed forces are known), and a sign indicating a minefield ahead.

    Just beyond the checkpoint lies the other half of the village — and the Azerbaijani soldiers who control it.

    “On October 27, a huge number of Azerbaijani soldiers entered the village,” says Oleg Harutiunian, 61, the mayor of the village. “We couldn’t hold our positions. We had to pull back.”

    Taghavard and its surroundings witnessed some of the heaviest fighting of the war. The nearby town of Karmir Shuka changed hands multiple times, as Azerbaijani soldiers entered the settlement only to be pushed back by spirited counterattacks by the ethnic Armenians (the town is still in Armenian hands).

    Hills just south of Taghavard that are held by Azerbaijani forces.

    Hills just south of Taghavard that are held by Azerbaijani forces.

    While Taghavard itself is nothing special, its position is: it lies astride the axis where Azerbaijani troops punched northwest towards Susa (Shushi in Armenian), the key central Karabakh city which overlooks Stepanakert. Susa’s capture on November 9 effectively marked the end of the war.

    Harutiunian reckons this singular Azerbaijani focus — to take Susa — is what enabled Armenian forces to retain control of the half of Taghavard they still hold. “[Azerbaijan] didn’t want this village,” he says. “They just needed the road to Shushi.”

    The corridor seized by Azerbaijani forces as part of their drive to Susa is indeed quite narrow. Near the entrance to Taghavard one can see an Azerbaijani camp, its blue-red-and-green flag waving conspicuously less than a kilometer away in the fields to the northwest.

    ‘I Could See My Own House On Fire’

    The November 10 truce deal that officially ended the fighting has had little meaning for the people of Taghavard.

    Harutiunian estimates the homes of some 600 of the village’s roughly 1,300 inhabitants are located in the Azerbaijani-held portion of the settlement. Many of them are likely no longer standing.

    “[The Azerbaijanis] burned the houses after they entered [the village],” Harutiunian says. “From over here, I could see my own house on fire.”

    The village head now lives in Stepanakert, from where he commutes to Taghavard daily to work on what’s left of the village.

    Very few of Taghavard’s residents have been able to return. The only people visible on the road or at the village administration are men, volunteers in the local militia.

    Oleg Harutiunian, the mayor of Taghavard

    Oleg Harutiunian, the mayor of Taghavard

    “Almost none of the women and children have been able to come back,” says Harutiunian. “How can they be safe? The Azerbaijanis are right there,” he says, pointing to a hillside barely 500 meters away. Two Azerbaijani soldiers are visible there, standing in front of a ruined building.

    The danger Harutiunian speaks of is not speculative. Several times while talking during his interview, cracks of gunshot can be heard.

    Ethnic Armenian soldiers in the village are billeted in an abandoned house near the checkpoint on the front line. In a brief conversation before their superiors arrive and forbid them from saying more, they confirm that the cease-fire is not holding here.

    “The Azerbaijanis have been firing at us all day,” says Artur, 20. “We have not returned fire but we have suffered casualties.”

    “It’s a sniper war now,” says another young soldier who does not want to give his name.

    Russia’s peacekeeping contingent, stretched thin along a line of contact that extends for roughly 300 kilometers around the remainder of Armenian-held territory in Nagorno-Karabakh, is not present in Taghavard.

    The Russians’ nearest position — a small checkpoint with a dozen soldiers and two BTR infantry fighting vehicles — is more than 5 kilometers away.

    “The Russians aren’t here,” Harutiunian confirms. “I don’t know why. There is just the flag,” he says, gesturing to a Russian tricolor hanging across the middle of the no-man’s-land minefield that marks where Armenian control ends and the Azerbaijani presence begins.

    Confusion reigns over where the lines of control throughout southern Karabakh are supposed to be.

    The tripartite agreement signed on November 10 stipulates in its first clause that both Armenian and Azerbaijani forces “shall stop in their current positions.” But this has not stopped the more numerous and better equipped Azerbaijan troops from attempting to seize additional land.

    On December 12, Azerbaijani troops attacked the villages of Hin Tagher (Kohne Taglar in Azeri) and Khtsaberd (Caylaqqala), two Armenian-held settlements about 30 kilometers south of Stepanakert that were not captured during the war. An estimated 73 ethnic Armenian servicemen were taken prisoner as a result, and the head of Hin Tagher later confirmed that Azerbaijan had taken control of the village.

    Russian peacekeepers were not in the area before the attack. While a contingent of Russians later arrived and negotiations are ongoing over the final status of the villages, the incident poses a major challenge to the effectiveness of the Russian peacekeeping mission.

    Harutiunian, meanwhile, remains confident that negotiations will resolve the situation in his village in Armenia’s favor.

    “I talked to the head of the Martuni region,” he says, referring to the Artsakh “province” to which Taghavard belongs. “He is in close contact with the Russians and he assures me we will get the rest [of the village] back.”

    If this does not occur and the village remains split, it is difficult to see how ethnic Armenian civilians will be able to return to it.

    “Of course no one will live here with the enemy right there,” scoffs Harutiunian. “No one will return to Karmir Shuka either,” he adds, referring to the nearby town of 2,000 prewar inhabitants that was heavily damaged in the fighting.

    Harutiunian’s remark is punctuated but yet another gunshot ringing out in the distance.

    The village of Taghavard appears to merely be part of the latest front line in this more than 30-year old conflict.

    This post was originally published on Radio Free.

  • Dozens Of Armenian Soldiers ‘Captured’ In Nagorno-Karabakh Raid

    The de facto authorities in Nagorno-Karabakh say dozens of ethnic Armenian soldiers have been captured in a raid by Azerbaijani forces in the breakaway region following last month’s cease-fire that ended six weeks of fighting.

    “Unfortunately, several dozen of our servicemen have been captured near Khtsaberd,” the leader of the separatist mountainous region, Arayik Harutiunian, said on December 16.

    The rights ombudsman in Nagorno-Karabakh, Artak Beglarian, put the number of captive soldiers at around 60.

    Nagorno-Karabakh’s Defense Ministry earlier said contact had been lost with a number of army positions around the villages of Khtsaberd (Caylaqqala in Azeri) and Hin Tagher (Kohne Taglar).

    There has been no comment so far on the soldiers’ reported capture from Azerbaijani authorities.

    Armenian and Azerbaijan agreed to a Moscow-brokered accord that took effect on November 10, ending the worst clashes over Nagorno-Karabakh since the early 1990s.

    Under the agreement, Azerbaijani retook control of swaths of territory ethnic Armenians had controlled since the 1990s and nearly 2,000 Russian peacekeepers have been deployed between the two sides.

    The Russian peacekeeping force reported over the weekend that fighting had broken out between the two sides in violation of the cease-fire.

    Armenia accused Azerbaijan of breaking the truce by attacking Khtsaberd and Hin Tagher, which Azerbaijan claims fall under its control under the deal.

    The Azerbaijani Defense Ministry said it had launched an offensive against Armenian forces who had refused to leave the area in the Hadrut district.

    The ministry also said that four Azerbaijani soldiers had been killed since the truce agreement came into effect.

    Nagorno-Karabakh is internationally recognized as part of Azerbaijan, but the ethnic Armenians who make up most of the region’s population reject Azerbaijani rule.

    They had been governing their own affairs, with support from Armenia, since Azerbaijan’s troops and Azeri civilians were pushed out of the region and seven adjacent districts in a war that ended in a cease-fire in 1994.

    With reporting by the BBC and AFP

    This post was originally published on Radio Free.

  • Armenia’s Pashinian Says Early Elections ‘Cannot Be Held Based On My Will Alone’

    YEREVAN — Armenia’s embattled prime minister, Nikol Pashinian, who is facing mounting opposition calls for him to step down over last month’s cease-fire deal with Azerbaijan, says he alone cannot decide to call early parliamentary elections.

    “The question is not whether or not the prime minister must resign,” Pashinian said in an interview with RFE/RL on December 16. “The question is who decides in Armenia who should be the prime minister. The people must decide.”

    “Snap elections cannot be held based on my will and decision alone. There has to be consensus,” he added.

    The prime minister did not elaborate.

    Pashinian, who swept to power amid nationwide protests in 2018, has come under fire since agreeing to a Moscow-brokered deal with Azerbaijan that took effect on November 10, ending six weeks of fierce fighting in and around the breakaway region of Nagorno-Karabakh.

    His opponents want him to quit over what they say was his disastrous handling of the conflict that handed Azerbaijan swaths of territory ethnic Armenians had controlled since the 1990s.

    Nagorno-Karabakh is internationally recognized as part of Azerbaijan, but the ethnic Armenians who make up most of the region’s population reject Azerbaijani rule.

    They had been governing their own affairs, with support from Armenia, since Azerbaijan’s troops and Azeri civilians were pushed out of the region and seven adjacent districts in a war that ended in a cease-fire in 1994.

    Under the peace deal, some parts of Nagorno-Karabakh and all seven districts around it were placed under Azerbaijani administration after almost 30 years of control by Armenians.

    Thousands of anti-government protesters have taken to the streets of Yerevan and other Armenian cities since the truce deal took effect, while most opposition groups called for the establishment of a new, interim government until early elections can be held in the coming months.

    Pashinian has said he has no plans to quit, insisting that he is responsible for ensuring national security and stabilizing the former Soviet republic.

    However, representatives of his My Step bloc have indicated in recent days that they are “ready to discuss” the possibility of holding fresh parliamentary elections.

    In the interview with RFE/RL, the prime minister also admitted that he bore responsibility for the outcome of the latest fighting, in which more than 5,600 people on both sides were killed — the worst clashes over Nagorno-Karabakh since the early 1990s.

    “I consider myself the No. 1 person responsible [for the Armenian side’s defeat] but I don’t consider myself the No. 1 guilty person,” Pashinian said, dismissing critics’ claims he precipitated the war with a reckless policy on Nagorno-Karabakh.

    This post was originally published on Radio Free.

  • Azerbaijan, Armenia Swap Prisoners As Part Of Nagorno-Karabakh Truce Deal

    YEREVAN/BAKU — Azerbaijan and Armenia have started exchanging prisoners, a move stipulated in the cease-fire agreement between the two neighbors that ended recent fighting over the breakaway Nagorno-Karabakh territory.

    Azerbaijani authorities said the sides had agreed to an all-for-all exchange of prisoners, and that a plane with some of the captives landed in Azerbaijan on December 14.

    Armenian officials said a Russian plane carrying 44 Armenian captives landed at Yerevan’s Erebuni airport late in the day.

    “At this stage, the Armenian captives whose captivity has been confirmed by Azerbaijan and the Red Cross are being returned. The process of finding and organizing the return of our other compatriots who are missing and have been possibly captured continues,” Deputy Prime Minister Tigran Avinian wrote on his Facebook page.

    The Russian Defense Ministry said that 12 prisoners were handed over to Azerbaijan and 44 to Armenia.

    The exchange was facilitated by Russian peacekeepers who have been deployed in and around Nagorno-Karabakh under the Moscow-brokered cease-fire deal, which took effect on November 10 after six weeks of fighting.

    It was not immediately clear how many more prisoners Azerbaijan and Armenia intended to exchange.

    The fighting, in which killed more than 5,600 people on both sides were killed, was the worst clashes over the region since the early 1990s.

    Under the Russia-brokered truce deal, some parts in and around Nagorno-Karabakh were placed under Azerbaijani administration after almost 30 years of control by ethnic Armenian forces.

    In Armenia, the truce agreement sparked outrage and anti-government protests, with thousands regularly taking to the streets to demand the ouster of Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian over his handling of the conflict.

    Thousands of people rallied in the Armenian capital on December 14, chanting “Nikol, go away!” and “Armenia without Nikol!”

    Pashinian, who swept to power amid nationwide protests in 2018, has said he has no plans to quit, insisting that he signed the deal because he is responsible for ensuring national security and stabilizing the former Soviet republic.

    Opposition politicians have called for the establishment of a new, interim government until early elections can be held in the coming months.

    Nagorno-Karabakh is internationally recognized as part of Azerbaijan, but the ethnic Armenians who make up most of the region’s population reject Azerbaijani rule.

    They have been governing their own affairs, with support from Armenia, since Azerbaijan’s troops and Azeri civilians were pushed out of the region and the seven adjacent districts in a war that ended in a cease-fire in 1994.

    With reporting by AP

    This post was originally published on Radio Free.

  • Azerbaijani Soldiers Arrested For Desecration, Vandalism During Nagorno-Karabakh Conflict

    BAKU – Azerbaijani authorities say they have arrested four servicemen suspected of desecrating the bodies of dead Armenian soldiers and of vandalizing gravestones at Armenian cemeteries during recent fighting over the breakaway Nagorno-Karabakh region.

    The arrests were made after investigators studied videos that circulated on the Internet during the six weeks of fighting that ended last month, the Prosecutor-General’s Office said in a statement on December 14.

    According to the statement, two sergeants, Rasad Aliyev and Qardasxan Abisov, are suspected of desecrating the corpses of Armenian soldiers killed during battles in the district of Zangilan.

    Two privates, Arzu Huseynov and Umid Agayev, are accused of vandalizing gravestones at a cemetery in the village of Madatli.

    “Other videos with possible similar contents are being investigated… Such criminal acts committed by the servicemen of the Republic of Azerbaijan are inadmissible… and individuals who have committed similar violations will be brought to justice, in accordance with law,” the Prosecutor-General’s Office said.

    The office said in November that it had launched a probe into videos showing the possible torture of captured Armenian soldiers and the desecration of corpses.

    International human rights groups have urged both Azerbaijan and Armenia to immediately conduct investigations into war crimes allegedly committed by both sides during the latest fighting over Nagorno-Karabakh that ended with a Russia-brokered truce on November 10.

    Under the truce deal, some parts in and around the region were placed under Azerbaijani administration after almost 30 years of control by ethnic Armenian forces.

    Nagorno-Karabakh is internationally recognized as part of Azerbaijan, but the ethnic Armenians who make up most of the region’s population reject Azerbaijani rule.

    They have been governing their own affairs, with support from Armenia, since Azerbaijan’s troops and Azeri civilians were pushed out of the region and the seven adjacent districts in a war that ended in a cease-fire in 1994.

    This post was originally published on Radio Free.

  • Azerbaijani Soldiers Arrested For Desecration, Vandalism During Nagorno-Karabakh Conflict

    BAKU – Azerbaijani authorities say they have arrested four servicemen suspected of desecrating the bodies of dead Armenian soldiers and of vandalizing gravestones at Armenian cemeteries during recent fighting over the breakaway Nagorno-Karabakh region.

    The arrests were made after investigators studied videos that circulated on the Internet during the six weeks of fighting that ended last month, the Prosecutor-General’s Office said in a statement on December 14.

    According to the statement, two sergeants, Rasad Aliyev and Qardasxan Abisov, are suspected of desecrating the corpses of Armenian soldiers killed during battles in the district of Zangilan.

    Two privates, Arzu Huseynov and Umid Agayev, are accused of vandalizing gravestones at a cemetery in the village of Madatli.

    “Other videos with possible similar contents are being investigated… Such criminal acts committed by the servicemen of the Republic of Azerbaijan are inadmissible… and individuals who have committed similar violations will be brought to justice, in accordance with law,” the Prosecutor-General’s Office said.

    The office said in November that it had launched a probe into videos showing the possible torture of captured Armenian soldiers and the desecration of corpses.

    International human rights groups have urged both Azerbaijan and Armenia to immediately conduct investigations into war crimes allegedly committed by both sides during the latest fighting over Nagorno-Karabakh that ended with a Russia-brokered truce on November 10.

    Under the truce deal, some parts in and around the region were placed under Azerbaijani administration after almost 30 years of control by ethnic Armenian forces.

    Nagorno-Karabakh is internationally recognized as part of Azerbaijan, but the ethnic Armenians who make up most of the region’s population reject Azerbaijani rule.

    They have been governing their own affairs, with support from Armenia, since Azerbaijan’s troops and Azeri civilians were pushed out of the region and the seven adjacent districts in a war that ended in a cease-fire in 1994.

    This post was originally published on Radio Free.

  • Azerbaijan Says Four Soldiers Killed Amid Cease-Fire Violations In Nagorno-Karabakh

    Azerbaijani defense officials say four soldiers were killed amid an outbreak of fighting in Nagorno-Karabakh, the worst since a cease-fire last month ended large-scale clashes.

    This post was originally published on Radio Free.

  • Armenia, Azerbaijan Trade Accusations For Nagorno-Karabakh Cease-Fire Violations

    Armenia has accused Baku of violating a cease-fire agreement in the conflict over Azerbaijan’s Nagorno-Karabakh region.

    Armenia’s Defense Ministry said Azerbaijani forces attacked positions held by ethnic Armenian forces, the so-called Karabakh Defense Army, in Nagorno-Karabakh in the southern Hadrut district on December 12.

    Azerbaijan’s Defense Ministry issued a statement accusing the Armenian military of staging a “provocation” and insisted that the cease-fire agreement was holding.

    Karabakh Defense Army officials said three of its fighters were wounded in clashes on December 11.

    Russian peacekeepers monitoring the cease-fire agreement acknowledged violations in Hadrut on both days, but did not assign blame.

    “Small-arms shooting was recorded in the Hadrut district,” a spokesman for the peacekeeping force told journalists. “Through direct communications lines, the sides were promptly informed of our demand to completely observe the cease-fire regime.”

    Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev said the December 11 incident was a “terrorist attack” committed by “either Armenian gunmen or what is left of the Armenian Army” in Nagorno-Karabakh.

    Nagorno-Karabakh belongs to Azerbaijan, but it and some surrounding areas have been de facto controlled by Armenia-backed ethnic Armenian forces for decades. In September, Azerbaijan launched a military campaign that enabled Baku to regain control of large parts of the territory.

    In November, a Russia-brokered cease-fire agreement was reached, and some 2,000 Russian peacekeeping forces have been deployed to the conflict zone.

    Peace talks on the conflict have been coordinated by the Minsk Group of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE). French co-Chairman Stephane Visconti said in Baku on December 12 that Minsk Group mediators were ready to continue working toward a long-term settlement.

    “We are ready to work on your proposals and look for an acceptable option for the sides,” Visconti told Aliyev.

    Visconti added that the recent developments had produced “an absolutely new situation” in the region, “which could bring about stability.”

    With reporting by TASS, AP, and dpa

    This post was originally published on Radio Free.

  • CIS Foreign Ministers Approve Draft On Closer Military, COVID-19 Cooperation

    Foreign Ministers of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) have approved a draft concept on further developing cooperation in several areas, including the coronavirus pandemic.

    The Kazakh Foreign Ministry said in a statement that ministers approved a number of documents at the December 10 meeting, including a concept of military cooperation between CIS member states to 2025.

    It added that the Council of the CIS leaders will be held online on December 18.

    “The participants discussed a wide range of integration cooperation issues within the CIS, with a special emphasis on joint actions to overcome the negative effects of the coronavirus pandemic,” the Russian Foreign Ministry said after the meeting.

    CIS members are former Soviet republics — Azerbaijan, Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Russia, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan. Turkmenistan has an associate status in the grouping.

    Ukraine quit the grouping in 2018, four years after Russia forcibly annexed Ukraine’s Crimea region in March 2014 and started backing separatists in Ukraine’s east in a conflict that has killed more than 13,200 people since April 2014.

    Ukraine was an associate member of the CIS since the grouping was established following the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991.

    Earlier, in 2009, another former Soviet republic, Georgia, quit the CIS following a five-day Russian-Georgian war in August 2008, after which Russia has maintained troops in Georgia’s breakaway regions of South Ossetia and Abkhazia and recognized their independence from Tbilisi.

    This post was originally published on Radio Free.

  • Azerbaijan Holds Military Parade To Mark Successes In Nagorno-Karabakh War

    Azerbaijan has held a military parade to mark the country’s declared victory over Armenia in a recent war over the breakaway Nagorno-Karabakh region that ended with a Moscow-brokered truce that handed back several parts of the region to Baku.

    Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and visiting Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, a key ally in the conflict, presided over the parade devoted to what is officially described in Azerbaijan as the Victory in the Patriotic War, held at Baku’s central Azadliq (Liberty) Square, on December 10.

    The peace agreement took force exactly a month ago and put an end to six weeks of fierce fighting over Nagorno-Karabakh that left thousands dead on both sides. It was seen as a major victory in Azerbaijan, while prompting mass protests in Armenia, where opposition supporters are demanding the ouster of the prime minister over his handling of the conflict.

    Azerbaijan’s win was also an important geopolitical coup for Erdogan, helping solidify Turkey’s role as a powerbroker in the ex-Soviet Caucasus region that the Kremlin considers its sphere of influence.

    More than 3,000 military personnel and some 150 pieces of military hardware — including some military equipment captured from ethnic Armenian forces during the war — were part of the procession, while navy vessels performed maneuvers in the nearby Bay of Baku. Turkish military personnel also participated in the event.

    Under the peace deal, some parts of Nagorno-Karabakh and all seven districts around it were placed under Azerbaijani administration after almost 30 years of control by ethnic Armenian forces.

    After the truce, Turkey signed a memorandum with Russia to create a joint monitoring center in Azerbaijan.

    Russian officials have said that Ankara’s involvement will be limited to the work of the monitoring center on Azerbaijani soil, and Turkish peacekeepers would not enter Nagorno-Karabakh.

    Nagorno-Karabakh is internationally recognized as part of Azerbaijan, but the ethnic Armenians who make up most of the region’s population reject Azerbaijani rule.

    This post was originally published on Radio Free.

  • Probe Sought Into Nagorno-Karabakh ‘Decapitations,’ Other ‘War Crimes’

    International human rights groups are urging both Azerbaijan and Armenia to urgently conduct investigations into war crimes allegedly committed by both sides during weeks of recent fighting over the breakaway Nagorno-Karabakh region.

    Amnesty International has analyzed 22 videos depicting “extrajudicial executions, the mistreatment of prisoners of war and other captives, and desecration of the dead bodies of enemy soldiers,” the London-based human rights watchdog said in a statement on December 10.

    Two of the clips show “extrajudicial executions by decapitation” by members of Azerbaijan’s military while another video shows the cutting of an Azerbaijani border guard’s throat that led to his death, it said.

    “The depravity and lack of humanity captured in these videos shows the deliberate intention to cause ultimate harm and humiliation to victims, in clear violation of international humanitarian law,” according to Denis Krivosheyev, the rights group’s research director for Eastern Europe and Central Asia.

    “Both Azerbaijani and Armenian authorities must immediately conduct independent, impartial investigations and identify all those responsible,” Krivosheyev said.

    Louis Charbonneau, the United Nations director at New-York based Human Rights Watch, said the abuses described by Amnesty were “war crimes” that should be investigated.

    “Azerbaijan and Armenia authorities [should] investigate, identify [people] responsible & hold them accountable,” Charbonneau said on Twitter.

    Amnesty International “authenticated the footage as genuine, and technical tests conducted on the videos indicate that the files have not been manipulated,” the statement said, adding that a forensic pathologist verified the details of the injuries.

    International humanitarian law prohibits acts of violence against prisoners of war and any other detained person, the mutilation of dead bodies, and the filming of confessions or denunciations for propaganda purposes.

    Amnesty International’s call comes one month after a Moscow-brokered cease-fire deal brought an end to six weeks of fighting in and around Nagorno-Karabakh — the worst clashes over the disputed region in three decades.

    The latest fighting left more than 5,000 people dead, including many civilians, and resulted in Azerbaijani forces retaking much of Nagorno-Karabakh and surrounding districts.

    Both sides have accused each other of violating international law during the war.

    The region, populated mainly by ethnic Armenians, declared independence from Azerbaijan amid a 1988-94 war that claimed an estimated 30,000 lives and displaced hundreds of thousands of people.

    Internationally mediated negotiations have failed to result in a resolution.

    This post was originally published on Radio Free.

  • Interview: Thomas De Waal On What’s Next For Nagorno-Karabakh, Armenian-Azerbaijani Relations

    Following the latest fighting over Nagorno-Karabakh, Azerbaijan has retaken control over all seven districts around Karabakh that had been occupied by Armenian forces since the early 1990s.

    Azerbaijani forces also regained territory in parts of Nagorno-Karabakh itself.

    A Russian-brokered cease-fire deal has seen the deployment of nearly 2,000 Russian peacekeepers to ensure security in the enclave and its only overland link with Armenia — the so-called Lachin corridor through southwestern Azerbaijan.

    RFE/RL Armenian Service Director Harry Tamrazian spoke on December 5 to Carnegie Europe’s noted Caucasus expert Thomas de Waal about the region’s prospects for diplomacy and its changing geopolitics.

    RFE/RL: Since the 1990s, the Minsk Group of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) has been the mediator between Armenia and Azerbaijan in negotiations over Nagorno-Karabakh. Now, with Azerbaijan having retaken the seven districts around Nagorno-Karabakh, as well as parts of Nagorno-Karabakh itself, is the Minsk Group dead? Now, with Azerbaijan having retaken the seven occupied districts around Nagorno-Karabakh in recent fighting, as well as parts of Nagorno-Karabakh itself, is the Minsk Group finished? Or is there still a role for its co-chairs — the United States, France, and Russia — in order to have a meaningful impact on the process?

    Thomas de Waal: I think we’re in a completely different phase of this conflict. We have a cease-fire and truce. But we are very far from a political agreement. And the question of the status of Karabakh, I think, is even more difficult now to solve. As [far as] the Azerbaijani side is concerned, this question [of a special status for Nagorno-Karabakh] is now off the table. It is no longer up for discussion.

    But there still need to be negotiations about the future normalization of relations between Armenia and Azerbaijan. And I suppose the Minsk Group is the only format where that is possible at the moment. That’s going to be very difficult.

    Thomas de Waal

    Thomas de Waal

    I think the Minsk Group has suffered a lot of reputational damage in the region — particularly France in Azerbaijan, which I don’t think regards France as an honest mediator anymore.

    Russia is now in control. There are big questions as to whether the United States and France can still play an important mediating role. But something has to be done.

    Personally, I would like to see some improvements. I would like to see another European power which has more influence in Baku. It would be good, in my view, if that European power replaced France. Perhaps Germany. This is not a reflection on the French mediators. It’s just a reflection of the fact that French domestic politics means that France is no longer so respected in Azerbaijan.

    Secondly, I think the United Nations should play a role. It would be helpful if there was a UN Security Council resolution. The UN is sending agencies now to Azerbaijan — to Karabakh. It would be good if the UN was involved. And I would also like to see a role for the European Union, which did not have a political profile 30 years ago, but now, I think, needs to play a role.

    But let’s be honest. It’s difficult now to have negotiations. This war has made relations between the two countries even more difficult. So it’s a very difficult place to start.

    RFE/RL: Armenians hope that the truce deal signed by Russia, Armenia, and Azerbaijan on November 9 is just the first step — that everything should be settled within the Minsk Group framework. For example, the status of Nagorno-Karabakh. There is nothing about it in these documents signed on November 9.

    De Waal: The statement by the [Minsk Group] co-chairs from Tirana mentioned that they want to see substantive negotiations. They also mentioned the basic principles, which means that they are still considering the status of Nagorno-Karabakh.

    I think that as far as Azerbaijan is concerned, they are no longer looking at Nagorno-Karabakh — [the former Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Region] NKAR — as a territorial unit. Azerbaijani units are in the south of NKAR, or in the Hadrut region, for example. So it will be very difficult, I think, to talk about the territorial autonomy of Nagorno-Karabakh. But obviously that, as far as the Armenians are concerned and as far as the Minsk Group is concerned, is the basis for negotiations. Let’s see how things go.

    I think what’s important is if both Baku and Yerevan decided it is important to have a full normalization of relations — diplomatic relations, open borders, and so on. If they both decide that that is a strategic goal that they want, then I think it is possible to start negotiating. But if each side thinks it is better to live with the status quo, with a closed border, and they’re not interested in relations, then I see it as very difficult to negotiate.

    RFE/RL: What is happening on the ground in Nagorno-Karabakh? It seems that Armenia has lost its status as a sponsor or guarantor of Nagorno-Karabakh security. Russians are in full control on one hand. But on the other hand, the Russians admit that Nagorno-Karabakh is part of Azerbaijan — as Russian President Vladimir Putin’s spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, said. We see now that Azerbaijani soldiers are even going shopping in Stepanakert. It’s an unbelievable situation. What is your interpretation of all this?

    De Waal: It’s true Russia now emphasizes that the area of de jure Nagorno-Karabakh is part of Azerbaijan. But de facto, it’s now a Russian enclave. There are Russian peacekeepers there. Russia has become the security patron, not Armenia. They’re even talking about making Russian the language of Karabakh. I guess Karabakhis already speak Russian. So yes, Karabakh is now basically under Russian control. And for Russia, it’s a strategic asset in the Caucasus which they don’t want to lose — even though they say that technically, of course, it’s part of Azerbaijan.

    RFE/RL: Do you think that the United States and other states like France can have an influence on the negotiating process — if it starts at all? It seems that U.S. President-elect Joe Biden’s incoming administration is willing to actually push through the issue of Nagorno-Karabakh’s status. And two chambers of the French parliament called on the government to recognize Nagorno-Karabakh’s declaration of independence from Azerbaijan. But the French government has said it will not do so.

    De Waal: France and the United States have less influence than they had a few months ago. Russia is very much in the center. And, of course, Russia I think might be interested in an unstable peace which justifies the presence of Russian peacekeepers on the ground. So, no peace/no war, I think, might suit the Russians better than a full peace — which would be an argument for the Russians to leave the region. So I’m sure the new Biden administration wants to do something. But they are starting from a position of weakness.

    RFE/RL: What do you think about this transport corridor through southern Armenia that is mentioned in the November 9 truce — a link between Azerbaijan’s exclave of Naxcivan and the rest of Azerbaijan? Apparently it will be controlled by the Russian military. They will set up checkpoints on that road. Is that an encroachment on Armenian sovereignty?

    De Waal: I think it’s going to be incredibly difficult for the Armenians, who are being asked to facilitate a corridor across their own territory for Turks and Azerbaijanis to use. Presumably there will also be a north-south road connecting Armenia and Iran. But I think it’s going to be incredibly difficult for Armenia to agree to this. Again, this is one more reason I think why it’s important to have negotiations on a full political agreement between Armenia and Azerbaijan — to make that corridor functional.

    RFE/RL: What is your advice to Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian’s government on what it should do next? Should it resign? And can we blame this colossal failure only on Pashinian? Or are previous Armenian governments also to be blamed for Armenia’s losses?

    De Waal: I think this is a bigger failure for 20 years. The failure is on both sides — [Armenia and Azerbaijan] — to negotiate a peace and negotiate a compromise. But certainly, the Armenian side and Mr. Pashinian have also not been talking compromise.

    I think it was a big mistake [for Pashinian] to continue to talk about these Azerbaijani territories [around Nagorno-Karabakh] as “liberated” territories, not occupied territories. The world regarded them as occupied territories.

    [Former Armenian Prime Minister] Serzh Sarkisian, of course, said once that [the Azerbaijani district of] Agdam “is not our homeland.” So he acknowledged that. But there’s been very little public acknowledgment of that in Armenia. But it’s from both sides, this failure. It’s a strategic failure to talk peace, which is also true from the Azerbaijani side as well. There’s been a very aggressive language all these years from Azerbaijan.

    I think it’s a big tragedy. And of course it’s a bigger tragedy now for Armenia because they have lost so much in this war.
    I don’t have any advice but to be extremely realistic about the future — that if you live with difficult neighbors you’ve got to construct an extremely realistic policy about how to do that. Don’t live with your dreams but live with your realities. I’m afraid that’s the fate of Armenians.

    RFE/RL: Do you think Pashinian should resign from his post as Armenia’s prime minister?

    De Waal: I don’t know. That’s not for me to say. Maybe what Armenia needs is new elections. And maybe Pashinian would win those elections. But it’s not for me to speak on behalf of the Armenian people. I think new elections probably would be helpful in this very difficult context for Armenia.

    This post was originally published on Radio Free.

  • Israel Urges Citizens To Avoid Georgia, Azerbaijan, Citing Iran Threat

    Israel’s government is warning that Israeli targets abroad could come under attack by Iran, citing threats issued by Tehran following the killing of a prominent Iranian nuclear scientist last week.

    “In light of threats recently coming from Iranian officials and in light of the involvement in the past of Iranian agents in terror attacks in various countries, there is a concern that Iran will try to act in such a way against Israeli targets,” according to a December 3 statement issued by the prime minister’s National Security Council.

    It advised against travel to nearby countries such as Georgia, Azerbaijan, Turkey, the United Arab Emirates (U.A.E.), and Bahrain, as well as the Kurdish area of Iraq and Africa.

    Mohsen Fakhrizadeh, who was at the heart of the country’s past covert nuclear program, was killed on the outskirts of Tehran on November 27.

    No one has claimed responsibility, but Iranian officials have blamed the killing on Israel, an exile opposition group, and Saudi Arabia.

    A top adviser to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has said that Iran will give a “calculated and decisive” response.

    Israeli officials have declined to comment on the killing, while the Iranian opposition group and Saudi Arabia have denied any involvement.

    Elliott Abrams, the top U.S. envoy on Iran, said on December 3 that Iran is unlikely to retaliate over the assassination before the inauguration of Joe Biden as U.S. president on January 20, 2021, in case it jeopardizes any future sanctions relief from the United States.

    “If they want sanctions relief, they know that they’re going to need to enter some kind of negotiation after January 20, and it’s got to be in their minds that they don’t want to…undertake any activities between now and January 20 that make sanctions relief harder to get,” Abrams told Reuters.

    Iran and its proxies have targeted Israeli tourists and Jewish communities in the past.

    Israel in recent months has signed U.S.-brokered agreements establishing diplomatic relations with the U.A.E. and Bahrain.

    With reporting by AP and Reuters

    This post was originally published on Radio Free.

  • HRW: Azerbaijan Mistreats Armenian Prisoners of War

    Ethnic Armenian troops captured in the recent Nagorno-Karabakh fighting have been treated inhumanely on many occasions by Azerbaijani forces, being subjected to physical abuse and humiliation, Human Rights Watch (HRW) says in a new report.

    Videos widely circulated on social media depict Azerbaijani captors variously slapping, kicking, and prodding Armenian prisoners of war (POWs), HRW says.

    In the videos, Armenian POWs are forced, under obvious duress and with the apparent intent to humiliate, to kiss the Azerbaijani flag, praise Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev, swear at Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian, and declare that the breakaway region of Nagorno-Karabakh belongs to Azerbaijan.

    HRW closely examined 14 out of dozens of video recordings that show alleged abuse of Armenian POWs and were posted to social media. It also spoke with the families of five POWs whose abuse was depicted. The videos were posted to Telegram channels, including Kolorit 18+ and Karabah_News, and to several Instagram accounts.

    Although international humanitarian law and legislation regulating armed conflict require involved parties to treat POWs humanely in all circumstances, in most of the videos, the captors’ faces are visible, implying that they did not fear being held accountable, the New York-based watchdog said in its December 2 report.

    The third Geneva Convention protects POWs “particularly against acts of violence or intimidation and against insults and public curiosity.”

    “There can be no justification for the violent and humiliating treatment of prisoners of war,” said Hugh Williamson, HRW’s Europe and Central Asia director.

    “Humanitarian law is absolutely clear on the obligation to protect POWs. Azerbaijan’s authorities should ensure that this treatment ends immediately.”

    While the precise numbers are not known, Armenian officials told HRW that Azerbaijan holds “dozens” of Armenian POWs.

    HRW said in its report that Armenia also holds a number of Azerbaijani POWs and “at least three foreign mercenaries.”

    HRW is investigating videos alleging abuse of Azerbaijani POWs that have circulated on social media and will report on any findings.

    Nagorno-Karabakh is internationally recognized as part of Azerbaijan, but the ethnic Armenians who make up most of the population reject Azerbaijani rule.

    They have been governing their own affairs, with support from Armenia, since Azerbaijan’s troops and ethnic Azeri civilians were pushed out of the region in a war that ended in a cease-fire in 1994.

    Fighting broke out again in and around Nagorno-Karabakh on September 27, leaving thousands of soldiers and civilians dead on both sides over the ensuing weeks. Azerbaijan has not provided a figure for its military casualties.

    Fighting ended on November 10 with a Russia-negotiated truce.

    This post was originally published on Radio Free.

  • Celebrations And Sadness As Azerbaijan Retakes Lachin District From Armenians

    Azerbaijani forces moved into the district of Lachin early on December 1. It was the last of three territories ceded by Armenia under a peace deal that ended a six-week war over Azerbaijan’s breakaway Nagorno-Karabakh region. Azerbaijani citizens celebrated the news in Baku, and some made plans to return to Lachin, while Armenians living there faced the prospect of leaving their homes.

    This post was originally published on Radio Free.

  • Azerbaijani Opposition Activist Gets One Year In Prison

    BAKU — A member of the opposition Azerbaijan Popular Front Party (AXCP), Mahammad Imanli, has been sentenced to one year in prison for breaking coronavirus measures, a charge he rejects as false, calling it politically motivated.

    On December 1, Judge Mirheydar Zeynalov of the Sabuncu district court in Baku found Imanli guilty of failing to comply with coronavirus precautions and “spreading the disease.”

    Imanli rejected the court’s findings saying he was sentenced “only because I am a member of the AXCP.”

    A day earlier, a prosecutor at the trial asked the judge to sentence Imanli to 18 months in prison.

    Imanli has insisted that a police statement noting he was detained on July 20 was false.

    According to him and his lawyers, he was detained on July 16 and kept in a police station for four days, during which time he was interrogated regarding his participation in unsanctioned rallies in Baku in support of the country’s armed forces amid an escalation of military tensions with neighboring Armenia.

    Imanli is one of almost 50 AXCP members arrested in July after the rallies in support of the Azerbaijani Army.

    Investigators have said that, during the unsanctioned rallies in mid-July, AXCP activists clashed with police injuring some of them, upended private vehicles, and damaged parliament.

    Many of the activists who were detained were charged with damaging private property, attacking law enforcement officers, and disrupting public order.

    Dozens of AXCP members have been arrested, and some imprisoned, in recent years on what their supporters have called trumped-up charges.

    Opponents of Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev, Western countries, and international human rights groups say his government has persistently persecuted critics, political foes, independent media outlets, and civic activists.

    Aliyev denies any rights abuses. He took power in 2003 shortly before the death of his father, Heydar Aliyev, a former KGB officer and communist-era leader who had ruled Azerbaijan since 1993.

    This post was originally published on Radio Free.

  • Azerbaijani Forces Enter Third District Under Nagorno-Karabakh Truce

    BAKU — Azerbaijan says its forces have entered the Lachin district, the last of three handed back by Armenia as part of a deal that ended six weeks of fighting over the breakaway Nagorno-Karabakh region.

    “Units of the Azerbaijani Army entered the Lachin region on December 1” under the deal signed on November 9 by Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Russia, the Azerbaijani Defense Ministry said in a statement

    Azerbaijan lost control of Lachin during a war with Armenia in the early 1990s as they transitioned into independent countries amid the breakup of the Soviet Union.

    Lachin was a strategic link between Armenia’s internationally recognized border and ethnic Armenian-held areas in Nagorno-Karabakh.

    Armenia agreed to hand over three districts ringing Nagorno-Karabakh — Agdam, Kalbacar, and Lachin — after nearly three decades under Armenian control as part of the Russian-brokered agreement signed earlier this month, halting military action in and around Nagorno-Karabakh following the worst fighting in the region since the 1990s.

    Almost 2,000 Russian peacekeepers have moved into the area as part of the truce deal, which also committed the parties to reopening their borders for trade but sets no time frame for that.

    Agdam was ceded on November 20 and Kalbacar five days later.

    This post was originally published on Radio Free.

  • Azerbaijan Says Four Civilians Killed In Anti-Tank Mine Blast In Newly Retaken Region

    Four Azerbaijani civilians were killed on November 28 when their car triggered an anti-tank mine in a region that was taken by Azerbaijan during recent fighting with Armenian forces.

    The Azerbaijani Prosecutor-General’s Office said the blast took place a village in the Fizuli region, one of the Nagorno-Karabakh settlements that Azerbaijan said earlier it had taken control of.

    A statement issued by the Prosecutor-General’s Office said an investigation has been launched.

    Neither Armenian nor Nagorno-Karabakh officials have commented.

    Azerbaijan recaptured Fizuli in renewed clashes over Nagorno-Karabakh that started in late September and continued for six weeks.

    A Moscow-brokered truce signed earlier this month ended weeks of heavy fighting. Under the agreement, Armenia is ceding control of parts of the enclave’s territory as well as seven surrounding districts of Azerbaijan it held since the 1990s.

    The Armenian separatists are retaining control over most of Nagorno-Karabakh’s territory, and some 2,000 Russian peacekeepers have been deployed along frontline areas and to protect a land link connecting Karabakh with Armenia.

    With reporting by RFE/RL’s Azerbaijani and Armenian services, AFP, and AP

    This post was originally published on Radio Free.

  • Azerbaijani Forces Enter Second District Returned By Armenia Under Nagorno-Karabakh Truce

    Azerbaijani forces have entered the second of three districts to be handed back by Armenia as part of a deal that ended weeks of fighting over Nagorno-Karabakh.

    The Azerbaijani Defense Ministry said on November 25 that units of the Azerbaijani army had entered Karvachar (which Azerbaijanis call Kelbacar) under the deal signed this month by Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Russia.

    Karvachar, wedged between Nagorno-Karabakh and Armenia, was initially scheduled for handover on November 15 but the deadline was postponed by Azerbaijan for humanitarian reasons.

    “Engineering work has been completed to ensure the movement of our units in this direction, the difficult mountain roads along the route of the troops’ movement are being cleared of mines and prepared for use,” the ministry statement said.

    Photos and videos were to be presented during the day, the ministry said.

    Armenia agreed to hand over three districts ringing Nagorno-Karabakh — Agdam, Karvachar, and Lachin — after nearly three decades under Armenian control as part of a truce signed two weeks ago that stopped six weeks of military conflict over the breakaway region.

    Agdam was ceded on November 20 and Lachin is to be handed over by December 1.

    The implementation of the Russian-brokered agreement was discussed during separate phone calls between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian, the Kremlin said on November 24.

    Russian President Vladimir Putin

    Russian President Vladimir Putin

    The three leaders also discussed humanitarian assistance for the people of Nagorno-Karabakh and economic issues as well as the unblocking of transport communications in the region, the Kremlin added in a statement.

    High-level Russian government delegations, including two Russian deputy prime ministers as well as Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu and Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, visited Yerevan and Baku at the weekend.

    “They looked into Russian peacekeepers in the Nagorno-Karabakh region’s activity and into further steps to provide humanitarian assistance to the population,” the statement said.

    The leaders also “touched upon issues of economic interaction and unblocking of transport links in the region,” according to the statement. No further details were provided.

    Almost 2,000 Russian troops moved into areas in and around Nagorno-Karabakh earlier this month as part of the that ended fighting in the 30-year-old conflict that is thought to have killed thousands.

    The truce committed the parties to reopening their borders for trade, but it sets no time frame for that.

    Putin also discussed Nagorno-Karabakh with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on the phone on November 24, the Kremlin said.

    “Vladimir Putin informed the Turkish leader about the activities of Russian peacekeepers [in Nagorno-Karabakh] who ensure the cease-fire and securing of civil population,” it said in a statement.

    “It was stressed that urgent humanitarian problems linked with the return of refugees, restoration of infrastructure, preservation of religious and cultural sites must be resolved without delay,” it said, adding that the call was initiated by the Turkish side.

    Two of the most influential regional powers in the Caucasus, Russia and Turkey, are said to be quietly disagreeing over the possible role of Turkish peacekeepers as part of the cease-fire.

    Russia has extensive relations with both Armenia and Azerbaijan but provides security guarantees to the former, while Turkey is a staunch Azerbaijani ally with longtime animosities with Yerevan.

    With reporting by Reuters, AFP, and TASS

    This post was originally published on Radio Free.

  • Big Brother in Practice: An Overview of Unlawful Surveillance

    By Thomas Rozanov 

    What George Orwell once fantasized in his novel ‘1984,’ is an actual threat today. Individuals are confronted with surveillance that interferes with private lives, and human rights. Big Brother tyranny is set into practice with modern widespread technology. “Telescreens” used by Oceania’s ruling party to constantly surveil citizens and prevent conspiracies and “thoughtcrimes” are now being replaced with unlawful access to online accounts, phone surveillance, cyberattacks, and hacking.

    What once seemed like a dystopian plot, is now a reality. I suspect this dimension will play out more in the future, as individuals are becoming more technologically integrated and dependent. We should be warned to not only protect our physical human rights, but also the privacy of our virtual spaces and communication via technology. I draw attention to recent cases of unlawful surveillance and cyberattacks by governments targeting individuals in Uzbekistan, Azerbaijan, and Belarus.

    Two weeks ago Amnesty released a report ‘We Will Find You, Anywhere’, outlining the unlawful surveillance by Uzbekistan government, targeting citizens in the country itself and abroad. The report focuses on seven individuals whose human rights were tampered, through unlawful surveillance. Earlier, Amnesty International has documented serious human rights violations in Uzbekistan, including pervasive torture by security forces, and arbitrary detention.

    Dmitry Tikhonov, a human rights defender, was forced to flee Uzbekistan after his work on a project to document forced labor, including child labor, during the cotton harvest, resulted in: an E-mail hack, burning of his house, initiated administrative cases, and lastly, accusation of involvement in a terrorist group.

    Dmitry Tikhonov, image from ‘We Will Find You Anywhere’ report

    Many Uzbekistani asylum seekers and refugees are forced to cut off contact with family inside Uzbekistan, due to fear of government surveillance and consequential persecution.

    “In Uzbekistan everyone knows that the government is monitoring communications,” an undisclosed political activist seeking refuge in Sweden says. Landlines and mobile phones fall under surveillance, and families of refugees are visited regularly by security services.

    Nadejda Atayeva, the President of the Association for Human Rights in Central Asia has been cut off from her family for almost 17 years since she left the country. “My relatives’ phones have been under surveillance since we left the country, almost 17 years ago. And the other political immigrants are in the same situation,” she says. Her relatives were coerced to file a statement refusing to communicate and consider her as a bad dangerous person.

    Nadejda Atayeva, image from ‘We Will Find You Anywhere’ report

    Gulasal Kamolova a journalist who fled Uzbekistan in 2015 because of her work for an independent news website Uznews, says since residing in France for 11 months, she has avoided phone communications. She says the government attempted to find her number by questioning her close friends and relatives. But more importantly after being directly threatened upon departure, she does not feel safe anymore. She recalls as the Uzbek secret service officer said, “wherever you are, we will find you, anywhere.”

    Gulasal Kamolova, image from ‘We Will Find You Anywhere’ report

    Galima Burkharbaeva former editor of Uznews.net, and Kamolova’s colleague ran her website from abroad after fleeing Uzbekistan in 2005, most recently from Berlin, Germany. In November 2014 her e-mail account was hacked, later social media pages were created under her name with pornographic material.

    Galima Bukharbaeva, image from ‘We Will Find You Anywhere’ report

    Galima says one of her main struggles is facing constant anxiety and remote threats such as this cyberattack. As other Uznews.net journalists faced danger, after the government released a full list of names of journalists working for the site, she was forced to close Uznews.net in December 2014, even further reducing the small number of independent news sources on Uzbekistan.

    Amnesty International calls for the government of Uzbekistan to reform laws governing surveillance, cease all harassment or targeting of family members of criminal suspects or other detained individuals. Amnesty calls other governments to ensure that no licenses are granted for surveillance technology to Uzbekistan until surveillance laws and practice are reformed to conform to international human rights law and standards. Amnesty calls telecom companies to consider impacts of operations, and support human rights by preventing and mitigating adverse impacts.

    For more on the Uzbekistani government conducting unlawful surveillance, please view the film ‘The Global Shadow of Uzbekistani Surveillance’ produced by AI.

    In Azerbaijan, human rights activists, journalists, and political dissidents have been targeted using multiple cyberattacks compromising passwords, contacts, emails, and social media. AI conducted research presented in report ‘False Friends – how fake accounts and crude malware targeted dissidents in Azerbaijan’ published on March 9, 2017. It details how victims have been targeted using a practice know as ‘spear phising’, which involves an email with an attachment containing a virus – known as malware – being sent to a target from a fake address.

    In Belarus, the government is using phone networks run by some of the world’s biggest telecom companies to stifle free speech and dissent. Last year AI released a report ‘Belarus: “It’s enough for people to feel it exists”: Civil Society, Secrecy and Surveillance in Belarus’, which details how civil society operates under surveillance, international human rights law and surveillance, Belarus laws and practice, and the role of private companies.

    Belarusian authorities have unfettered access to communications. Amnesty International sent letters to the three largest mobile phone providers which are partly owned by foreign companies—Turkcell, Telekom Austria, and MTS, and did not receive any response.

    Amnesty International believes that the companies are violating well-established standards on business and human rights. Under the UN’s Guiding Principles for Business, national laws where a company operates cannot be used to justify human rights abuses.

    Lastly, on a slightly positive note, for the World Day Against Cyber Censorship held yearly on March 12, ProtonMail and Amnesty International joined forces to fight cyber censorship by showing how internet restrictions affect people around the world.

    As ProtonMail’s 2 million users from 150 countries logged into their inboxes they saw Amnesty International’s latest findings on cyber censorship.

    In 2016, Amnesty International documented 55 countries where people were people were arrested for peaceful expression online. Each year governments around the world continue to restrict internet freedom, for example, Turkey and Saudi Arabia block over 50,000 and 400,000 websites, respectively, including social media and news sites. China continues to restrict internet to over 800 million users via the Great Firewall.

    While widespread technology certainly provides numerous advantages to society and development, it also enables governments to gain more unlawful power and control over their citizens. Government security forces are no longer limited by physical barriers and the need to travel, now, information can be intercepted across states in a matter of minutes. How should human rights activists respond to threats in this arena? What are some ways to cope with the anxiety that this creates? Are you attentive to your communication and internet security?

    Personally, I underestimate the potential power and threat of tracking and persecution. By gaining access to my cloud storage, e-mail, and social media page, one is able to find all my activity, finances, personal information, and contacts. Who knows if webcams and microphones embedded in nearly all devices (computers, tablets, phones, and even TVs) are not monitoring you. Surely there is potential.

    Thomas Rozanov is a volunteer at Eurasia Coordination Group, Amnesty International USA.

    This post was originally published on Human Rights Now.