AZERBAIJAN Republic of Azerbaijan Head of state: Ilham Aliyev Head of government: Artur Rasizade Authorities intensified the crackdown on the right to freedom of expression, particularly following revelations of large-scale political corruption. Independent news outlets were blocked and their owners arrested. Critics of the government continued to face politically motivated prosecution and imprisonment following unfair trials. LGBTI individuals were arbitrarily arrested and ill-treated. Suspicious deaths in custody were still not effectively investigated. BACKGROUND In July, renewed hostilities in the breakaway region of Nagorno-Karabakh resulted in the death of at least two ethnic Azerbaijani civilians, including a minor, following shelling by the Armenian-backed forces. Azerbaijan received international attention following a report by the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project, published in September, which accused members of Azerbaijan’s political elite of operating a large international money laundering scheme. Part of the money was allegedly used to pay European politicians to help whitewash Azerbaijan’s human rights reputation, among other things. On 11 October, the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) adopted two critical resolutions on Azerbaijan following allegations that some members of the PACE had benefited from the money laundering scheme. On 5 December, the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe triggered infringement proceedings against Azerbaijan under Article 46.4 of the European Convention on Human Rights. This followed its repeated failure to implement the decision of the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) in the case of opposition leader Ilgar 82 Mammadov to immediately release him; he had been arbitrarily detained since 2013. The EU and Azerbaijan proceeded with negotiations over a new strategic partnership agreement to deepen their economic relationship. In October, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) approved a USD500 million loan for the construction of a government-owned gas pipeline. This was despite Azerbaijan’s suspension from the EBRD-endorsed international oil and gas transparency initiative in March 2017, due to its repression of civil society. FREEDOM OF ASSOCIATION Leading human rights organizations remained unable to resume their work. The authorities continued using restrictive regulations and arbitrary prosecution to close down the few remaining critical organizations. On 2 May, Aziz Orujev, head of the independent online TV channel Kanal 13, was arrested by a police officer who claimed he looked like a wanted fugitive and remanded him to 30 days of administrative detention for purportedly disobeying police orders. On the day of his release, Aziz Orujev was remanded on fabricated charges of illegal entrepreneurship and abuse of office, and ordered to pre-trial detention. On 15 December Baku Court on Grave Crimes sentenced him to six years’ imprisonment. In August, the prosecution opened an investigation into Azerbaijan’s only remaining independent news agency, Turan, and arrested its director, Mehman Aliyev, on fabricated charges of illegal entrepreneurship. Following international pressure, Mehman Aliyev was transferred to house arrest on 11 September. On 2 November, the prosecution dropped the charges against him and closed the investigation against Turan. FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION All mainstream media remained under effective government control, with independent media outlets facing undue restrictions and media workers facing Amnesty International Report 2017/18