The Election Monitoring and Democracy Studies Center (EMDS) considers the detention of
the employees and founders of “Toplum TV” on March 6-8, as well as the members of the
Institute of Democratic Initiatives and the “III Republic” Platform, and the bogus charges
against them, as a continuation of the government’s political repression against free media and independent civil organizations in Azerbaijan.

EMDS reminds that on March 6, the searches conducted by the police in the offices of Toplum TV, Institute of Democratic Initiatives and the III Republic Platform were carried out without submitting court decisions. During the searches, the phones of the persons present were taken from their hands, and thus their ability to call a lawyer and inform their relatives were limited. The representatives of Toplum TV stated that during the search, the editorial equipment and computers were seized, as well as the videos collected over a long period of time as a result of illegal access to YouTube and Instagram pages were deleted.

EMDS urges that as a result of the political arrests in past years, the crisis in the protection of political freedoms in the country has deepened, and along with the Azerbaijani government the international human rights institutions are aslo responsible for the current political environment due to reluctance in the protection of human rights in Azerbaijan.

Follow the link to read the statement in more detail.