Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Reposted by najmin kamilsoy

Alex Raufoglu @ralexdc.bsky.social · 1d

NEW!!! Senator Shaheen Staff Hand-Delivers Letters to Detained Journalists and Lawyer in Azerbaijan

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Reposted by najmin kamilsoy

OC Media @ocmedia.bsky.social · Aug 23

🅾️ Opinion: Azerbaijan should align its actions to its commitment to peace — free Bahruz Samadov now.

oc-media.org/opinion-my-f...

Opinion | My friend Bahruz is in prison for advocating peace — now that’s state policy

Azerbaijan should align its actions to its commitment to peace — free Bahruz Samadov now.

oc-media.org

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najmin kamilsoy @knecmin.bsky.social · Aug 7

via @ralexdc.bsky.social

From Conflict to Commerce: ‘Trump Route’ to Link Azerbaijan, Armenia in New Peace Deal

www.kyivpost.com/post/57664?f...

From Conflict to Commerce: ‘Trump Route’ to Link Azerbaijan, Armenia in New Peace Deal

Friday’s peace deal aims to put the Caucasus on an “irreversible path to peace” and end a decades-long war, officials told Kyiv Post – but there are key issues that remain unresolved.

www.kyivpost.com

najmin kamilsoy @knecmin.bsky.social · Aug 7

- Azerbaijan and Armenia will declare exiting OSCE Minsk Group
- both AZ and ARM will sign bilateral documents with the US to advance relations
- contentious issues (prisoners in Baku, Armenian constitution) will be left to next stages
- Trump admin worked on these agreements since late February.

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najmin kamilsoy @knecmin.bsky.social · Aug 7

at tomorrow’s US-Azerbaijan-Armenia summit in Washington DC:

- the sides will announce agreement on “Trump Route for International Peace and Prosperity” (TRIPP) with American “commercial” involvement
- Aliyev & Pashinyan will sign joint declaration detailing concrete pathway for final peace

⬇️

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Reposted by najmin kamilsoy

Cavid Ağa @cavid.info · Jun 30

Even in prison, @ulviyyaali.bsky.social doesn't stop doing journalism. Here is her interview with Bahruz Samadov. medium.com/@cavidaga/ul...

Ulviyya Ali’s interview with Bahruz Samadov

Originally published by AbzasMedia in Azerbaijani. The translation to English is part of my efforts to highlight the unjust arrest of my…

medium.com

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Reposted by najmin kamilsoy

Sam Greene @samagreene.bsky.social · Jun 21

Putin: “I’ve already said that Russians and Ukrainians are one people. In that sense, all of Ukraine is ours. … We have this old rule, that wherever a Russian steps foot — that’s our territory.”

Whatever this is, it’s not a president preparing his people for compromise.

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najmin kamilsoy @knecmin.bsky.social · Jun 20

Among those sentenced today is a very good friend of mine, Farid Mehralizada, who was not connected to Abzas but was inserted into the case just for being the finest and most vocally critical economy analyst in the country. Here is his final speech at the trial: freefarid.info/f%c9%99rid-m...

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najmin kamilsoy @knecmin.bsky.social · Jun 20

The authorities tried geopoliticizing repressions by propagating conspiracies over connections of media outlets to Western funding agencies. Real purpose, however, was cementing dictatorial rule, with no room for critical activity that was hitherto tolerated.

globalvoices.org/2024/01/04/e...

‘Eternal president’ and transitionary motive in Azerbaijan’s snap election

Alongside repressions, or as a result of it, Azerbaijani leadership has over the past thirty years managed to acquire the passive acquiescence of different generations of the population.

globalvoices.org

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najmin kamilsoy @knecmin.bsky.social · Jun 20

The Abzas case marked the outset of havoc on the independent media ecosystem in Azerbaijan: subsequently, all other independent outlets - MeydanTV, ToplumTV, Kanal 13 and Turan Agency - became targets of heavy repression, with over 25 editors/journalists arrested, combined, in less than two years.

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najmin kamilsoy @knecmin.bsky.social · Jun 20

Following 1.5 years of sham, vindictive investigations & trials, Abzas Media managers & journalists have today been sentenced to 7-9 years in prison. The fabricated charges are smuggling & tax evasion, but this severe punishment is unleashed for Abzas team's courage to uncover grand corruption.

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najmin kamilsoy @knecmin.bsky.social · Jun 20

THREAD: The ongoing severe repression in Azerbaijan has slipped behind all the regional headlines, but it should not remain unnoticed. The Abzas Case marked a tipping point in the Aliyev government's determination to extinguish all independent media.

oc-media.org/azerbaijan-h...

Azerbaijan hands down lengthy sentences to Abzas Media team

Abzas Media was one of the last independent Azerbaijan news sites operating in the country.

oc-media.org

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OC Media @ocmedia.bsky.social · Jun 20

⭕ BREAKING: The Baku Court of Grave Crimes has handed out sentences of between 7-9 years in prison to the management and journalists of Abzas Media, one of the last independent Azerbaijan news sites operating in the country.

oc-media.org/azerbaijan-h...

Azerbaijan hands down lengthy sentences to Abzas Media team

Abzas Media was one of the last independent Azerbaijan news sites operating in the country.

oc-media.org

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Reposted by najmin kamilsoy

Yéléna Mac-Glandières @macglandieres.bsky.social · May 26

🛫 I've got a new research article out in Mobilities, as part of a special issue on the Caucasus (check it out!!) www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....
Title : "Pax Logistica? Mapping the interplay between war, peace and infrastructure in Azerbaijan after the 2nd Karabakh war (2020–2023)"

Pax Logistica? Mapping the interplay between war, peace and infrastructure in Azerbaijan after the 2nd Karabakh war (2020–2023)

This article examines the role that infrastructure and logistics have played as a method of authoritarian conflict management implemented by Azerbaijan after it regained control of most of the disp...

www.tandfonline.com

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najmin kamilsoy @knecmin.bsky.social · May 28

“Quiet diplomacy” is the new name for allowing an authoritarian regime to humiliate you.

Kaja Kallas @kajakallas.bsky.social · May 27

Welcome home, Théo Clerc.

His release from Azerbaijan shows what quiet diplomacy and respectful engagement can achieve.

I am relieved his detention is over and I’ll continue doing my part to support our citizens abroad.

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Thomas de Waal @tomdewaal.bsky.social · May 27

www.foreignaffairs.com/azerbaijan/p... Zaur's piece on Azerbaijan is excellent, authoritative, comprehensive and asks the hard questions about the country's future @zaurshiriyev.bsky.social

The Precarious Power of Azerbaijan

A delayed peace with Armenia endangers a new regional order.

www.foreignaffairs.com

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Reposted by najmin kamilsoy

Rusudan Djakeli @rusudandjakeli.bsky.social · May 15

Key findings from the latest report from Georgian civil society organizations on the Georgia crackdowns in November-February:

[Report in Georgian:
cutt.ly/6rz3ADOy]

- 77.7% of respondents reported experiencing violence and mistreatment by police. 🧵 1/9

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najmin kamilsoy @knecmin.bsky.social · May 15

Still having a hard time to digest @ulviyyaali.bsky.social's arrest. She is the latest victim of Azerbaijan's ongoing repressions - reminiscent of Stalin's. She is now suffering from injuries from torture she faced during detention.

@washingtonpost.com story:

www.washingtonpost.com/world/2025/0...

She covered human rights for VOA in Azerbaijan. Now she’s in jail.

Ulviyya Ali reported for Voice of America for years. Trump’s moves to dismantle the U.S.-funded outlet may have put her at greater risk, activists say.

www.washingtonpost.com

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najmin kamilsoy @knecmin.bsky.social · May 12

Important article on young people's political memories, positions and intergenerational relations in Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia:

Young People, Politics and Society in the South Caucasus

www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....

Young People, Politics and Society in the South Caucasus

This article explores socio-political landscapes in the South Caucasus through lyrical sociology with an emphasis on memory, political positions and intergenerational relations. Focusing on young p...

www.tandfonline.com

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Katharine Khamhaengwong @katharinegk.bsky.social · May 9

A crowd of protesters chants “freedom!” as the names of political prisoners are read at a protest marking Europe Day, and the 163rd day of protest

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POLITICO Europe @politico.eu · May 8

Elon Musk is behind the deaths of the “world’s poorest children,” blasted rival billionaire Bill Gates today as he announced plans to wind down his foundation and spend $200 billion on philanthropic efforts by 2045.

Elon Musk to blame for world’s poorest kids dying, says Bill Gates

Billionaire philanthropist lashes the world’s richest man over DOGE cuts.

www.politico.eu

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Reposted by najmin kamilsoy

Cesare Figari Barberis @cesarebarberis.bsky.social · May 7

Woke up to the news that activist and co-author Ahmad Mammadli has been arrested under false accusations by the regime in #Azerbaijan🇦🇿...

Ironically, we had written this piece together for @ispionline.bsky.social on the regime's repression of democratic movements

www.ispionline.it/en/publicati...

The Emergence of Democratic Movements and Their Systematic Repression in Azerbaijan | ISPI

The regime of Ilham Aliyev is systematically repressing the newly formed civil society and its democratic movements

www.ispionline.it

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najmin kamilsoy @knecmin.bsky.social · Apr 29

Today, researcher & @charlesuni.cuni.cz PhD candidate Bahruz Samadov is spending 30th birthday behind bars in Azerbaijan, where critical scholarly work is criminalized, labeled as treason. There shld be more academic voices demanding Bahruz's freedom. #FreeBahruz

www.psapopulism.org/blog/news/fr...

Free Bahruz Samadov

International Academic Community Calls for the Release of Young Azerbaijani Scholar Bahruz Samadov

www.psapopulism.org

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najmin kamilsoy @knecmin.bsky.social · Apr 27

- the average level of liberal democracy is back to 1985-level by population-weighted averages

- 45 countries are in ongoing episodes of autocratization and
19 countries democratization

- USA could become the fastest autocratizing
country in contemporary history that does not involve a coup d’état

V-Dem Institute @vdeminstitute.bsky.social · Apr 25

Out now! New article "State of the world 2024: 25 years of autocratization – democracy trumped?" in Democratization.
doi.org/10.1080/1351...

by @marinanord.bsky.social, @fabioangiolillo.bsky.social, Ana Good God, and @silindberg.bsky.social

#Polisky #PoliSciSky #PoliticalScience #USA

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najmin kamilsoy @knecmin.bsky.social · Apr 25

Hi @kajakallas.bsky.social, did you wonder why there was no journalist in the room asking slightly challenging questions? Small hint: they are all in prison.

Kaja Kallas @kajakallas.bsky.social · Apr 25

Azerbaijan is an important partner in the region.

Together, the EU and Azerbaijan have made significant progress in strengthening their ties.

We discussed ways to further increase trade and improve connectivity.

Press conference with Jeyhun Bayramov ↓

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