registration and restrictions over securing funding for human rights groups. The media remained severely restricted. Government critics, journalists, media representatives and human rights defenders faced increased instances of violence, harassment and arbitrary arrests. Azerbaijani human rights organizations reported that the number of individuals jailed under politically motivated charges had doubled compared with the previous year, to more than 230 people. A new restrictive media law adopted in 2022 required media outlets to register with the authorities. From November, the Media Development Agency of the Republic of Azerbaijan was reported to have begun legal action to close independent media entities that had been denied registration on arbitrary grounds. Bakhtiyar Hajiyev, an opposition activist, remained imprisoned since his detention in December 2022 on politically motivated charges. In March, he ended a hunger strike shortly after intimate photographs, videos and conversations with women were leaked from his social media accounts. Gubad Ibadoghlu, a renowned academic and anti-corruption activist, was arbitrarily arrested by plain-clothes police officers on 23 July in the capital, Baku, on fabricated charges of “religious extremism” and “acquiring or selling counterfeit money”. He was detained together with his wife (who was later released) shortly after helping set up a foundation aimed at benefiting students by seeking funding from assets confiscated under anti-corruption legislation. Gubad Ibadoghlu’s health deteriorated due to prison conditions and lack of adequate healthcare.4 More than a dozen activists were reportedly detained under administrative proceedings in September and October for criticizing the government and its military operations in Nagorno-Karabakh. Five men were arrested for posting anti-war content on social media. Three others – Nurlan Gahramanli, Emin Ibrahimov and Nemet Abbasov – were given 30 days’ administrative detention for purportedly disseminating harmful 88 information and disobeying the police. Afiaddin Mammadov, a trade union leader, was arrested on fabricated charges of physical assault carrying up to five years in prison and remained in pretrial detention at year’s end. In November and December, ahead of snap presidential elections expected in February 2024, police arrested at least 13 people on charges that appeared to be fabricated in retaliation for their criticism of the authorities. Prominent opposition politician Tofig Yagublu was arrested for allegedly falsifying documents. Abzas Media director Ulvi Hasanli, his colleagues Sevinj Vagifgizi, Nargiz Absalamova and Mahammad Kekalov, and investigative journalist Hafiz Babali were jailed on charges of smuggling after Abzas Media reported allegations of government corruption. Independent journalists Teymur Karimov, Ibrahim Humbatov, Arshad Ibrahimov, Aziz Orujov and Rufat Muradli, as well as activists Mohyaddin Orujov and Ilhamiz Guliyev, were arrested on charges ranging from illegal construction to possession of drugs and extortion. FREEDOM OF PEACEFUL ASSEMBLY The authorities continued to arbitrarily restrict the right to peaceful assembly. On 20 June police violently broke up a peaceful environmental protest in the village of Söyüdlü, Gadabay district, by local activists demonstrating against the planned expansion of a gold mine. Footage showed police beating protesters with truncheons and spraying a chemical irritant directly into the faces of several women protesters. Approximately 10 people were injured and a dozen were temporarily detained during the protest and its aftermath. This included at least three journalists briefly detained and beaten by the police while covering the protests and several activists arrested following the protests for their critical social media posts. Police also reportedly blocked access to Söyüdlü from 22 June for at least three weeks, allowing only residents and progovernment media outlets to enter. The State of the World’s Human Rights