Expert: Azerbaijan now much more despotic and intolerant than before   2020 aggression

ArmInfo. The only real chance for Azerbaijan to transition to a democratic state was through a peaceful resolution of the Artsakh issue based on compromise and tolerance. This opinion was expressed by Tatevik Hayrapetyan, expert on Azerbaijani studies, in her Telegram channel.

Instead, as the expert noted, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev, as  he put it, has made war his life mission, which excluded any changes  in the country's existing dictatorial regime and the possibility of  internal tolerance or criticism. Hayrapetyan recalled that a month  ago, several political prisoners in Azerbaijan, including political  figure Tofig Yagublu, started a hunger strike, with  Yagublu   continuing this protest to this day. According to her, Yagublu has  been a target for the Azerbaijani authorities from the very beginning  and went on a hunger strike back  in 2020, when he was again behind  bars due to his political views. However, in August, as the expert  explained, before the attack on Artsakh, Aliyev made a gesture and  released him, preventing a possible death. Hayrapetyan believes that  that after the capture of Artsakh, Aliyev has became even more  intolerant and ruthless towards his internal critics, including  Yagublu. "Trust me, Azerbaijan is now much more despotic and  intolerant than before the aggressive war of 2020," she concluded.