Critical journalists, bloggers and activists are facing growing pressure from the Azerbaijani government, the British Human rights activist Rebbeca Vincent writes in the article published on the Al Jazeera site.

“With Azerbaijan’s October 9 presidential elections rapidly approaching, critical journalists, bloggers and activists are facing growing pressure from a government that is becoming increasingly hostile to criticism and dissent that is expressed online.
The Azerbaijani authorities have long been working to punish and silence critical voices in the country, resulting in a broadcast media environment completely dominated by the state, and a print media climate where the few remaining critical publications are struggling for survival,” the author of the article writes.

Now, as the human rights defender notes, with the ruling elite seeking to further consolidate power as incumbent President Ilham Aliyev seeks a third term in office, authorities are increasingly turning their focus towards silencing online criticism .

Among the most alarming developments in recent months there was an extension of criminal defamation provisions to the internet. He noted that the criminal defamation provisions to online content that took effect on July 30 were condemned by the Council of Europe and the OSCE. The courts wasted no time in applying the new legislation. On August 14, a regional court convicted Mikail Talibov of defamation and sentenced him to one year of hard labor. His crime was in using Facebook to criticize his former employer.

The human rights’ activist touches upon the imprisonment of journalists and activists in connection with their online postings and notes that “it is not a new phenomenon in Azerbaijan.” According to her before the adoption of the new legislation, online postings had already played a role in a number of arrests. Journalist Faramaz Novruzoglu is serving a four-and-a-half-year jail term, in part for allegedly posting calls for riots on Facebook.

“The adoption of the internet defamation legislation is only one part of a wider campaign to silence online criticism and dissent in the run-up to the election. In July, prominent investigative journalist and correspondent for Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) Khadija Ismayilova faced a serious violation of her right to privacy. A sex video of Ismayilova [SFW], secretly filmed by a camera hidden in her home, was posted to a pro-government website, along with a fake interview attributed to her friend and colleague, dissident writer and activist Emin Milli,” the article said.

The author also touches another problem, the cyber attacks. In recent weeks, two organizations have reported a series of cyber attacks against their websites.

“Azadliq, one of the most critical newspapers with one of the highest circulations in the country, reported that its website had been experiencing DDoS (distributed denial of service) attacks since August 13. Ali Rza, Azadliq’s web editor, believes the hacks may have been triggered by the publication of an announcement about an opposition demonstration on August 18, calling for fair and free elections, and for the release of political prisoners in the country,” the author rights.

According to the article media rights watchdog the Institute for Reporters’ Freedom and Safety (IRFS) has also reported that its website has been experiencing DDoS attacks during the same period.

Summing up the human rights defender stresses that the internet has become a dangerous place for government critics in Azerbaijan. “The authorities seem determined to keep employing new tactics and finding new means of pressure to silence criticism and dissent, and in the absence of serious pressure from international bodies such as the European Union and the Council of Europe, this crackdown seems destined to continue,” Rebecca Vincent writes.