Despite near-total government control over the media, RFE/RL's Azerbaijani Service has built a high-impact social-media presence in Azerbaijan and a reputation as a leading source of independent news.
Azerbaijan has banned Russian State Duma lawmaker Nikolai Valuev from entering the country after he accused Baku of using Azerbaijani diaspora in Russia for criminal activities.
In Baku, Azerbaijan, the trial of 16 people, including former leaders of the unrecognized Nagorno-Karabakh Republic, started after more than one year in pre-trial detention.
Following Azerbaijan's president calling for Moscow to accept blame for downing an Azerbaijani plane, there is growing public anger toward Russia for its apparent attempts to sidestep responsibility for the incident.
Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev has accused Russia of trying to hide the cause of a deadly plane crash this week, calling on Moscow to admit responsibility.
The crash of an Azerbaijan Airlines passenger plane in Kazakhstan on December 25 was caused by "external interference," according to Azerbaijan's transport minister. At least 38 of the 67 passengers were killed as it crash-landed near Aqtau.
An Azerbaijani lawmaker said the possibility is "very strong" that the crash of a passenger jet earlier this week was caused by Russian air defense systems on alert for Ukrainian drone attacks.
The head of Azerbaijan Airlines has joined hundreds of mourners in Baku to pay tribute to the victims killed in a deadly plane crash. The passenger jet went down near the city of Aqtau in western Kazakhstan. RFE/RL's Ainur Saparova is near the crash site where bodies are being recovered.
As the first seven survivors arrived back in the country on December 26, Azerbaijan observed a national day of mourning 24 hours after a passenger plane from the flag carrier, Azerbaijan Airlines, crashed in Kazakhstan, killing 38 people.
Experts say they believe the flight crew of an Azerbaijan Airlines jet that crashed on December 25 was struggling to control the plane in its last moments. No official cause has been given yet for the crash, which claimed dozens of lives.
The cockpit recorder has been recovered intact as authorities stepped up their investigation following the crash of an Azerbaijan Airlines passenger jet in Kazakhstan that killed at least 38 of the 67 people aboard on December 25.
The United States has demanded that the government of Azerbaijan immediately release a group of detained human rights activists, journalists, and civil society figures being held in what is seen as an "escalating crackdown" on civil society and press freedom in Azerbaijan.
Five Azerbaijani journalists who are reportedly affiliated with Meydan TV, a media outlet known for harshly criticizing government policy, have been detained in Baku, their relatives said on December 6.
A district court in the Azerbaijani capital on December 2 fined the chairman of the opposition Azerbaijan Popular Front Party of Azerbaijan (APFP), Ali Karimli, over accusations that Karimli defamed a bitter rival in connection with his expulsion from the party five years ago.
The 29th UN Climate Change Conference (COP29) kicked off in the Azerbaijani capital, Baku, on November 11 with hopes of making headway in the global battle to combat climate change. But it didn't take long for the proceedings to grind to a halt as bickering erupted over the meeting's agenda.
A Baku court has sentenced Azerbaijani journalist Nazakat Mammadova to 13 years in prison for treason on charges of spying for Russia, RFE/RL's Azerbaijani Service reports.
Farid Mehralizada, an economist and journalist for Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, marked five months in prison on October 30. He was arrested after making public statements criticizing the policies of the Azerbaijani government.
Azerbaijani journalist and economist Farid Mehralizada, who is affiliated with RFE/RL, marked his fifth month in custody on October 30 on charges that he and his supporters say are fabricated.
The European Parliament on October 24 denounced what it called violations of human rights and international law by Azerbaijan, saying Europe needs to end its dependency on gas from the Caucasus nation.
Vidadi Isgandarli, an Azerbaijani opposition figure in exile well-known for his fierce criticism of the government, has died in France after being brutally beaten and stabbed in an attack at his apartment that his family says was politically motivated.
As Azerbaijan readies to host the United Nations COP29 climate talks, residents near the capital, Baku, say oil pollution is posing a toxic hazard. The country's fossil-fuel resources have made it a leading player but people who live near the rigs complain that oil spills are ignored.
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