Reporters Without Borders created online gallery of profiles of media  representatives arbitrarily imprisoned in Azerbaijan

ArmInfo.  The international organization Reporters Without Borders (RSF) has created a gallery of the profiles of the news professionals who have been arbitrarily  imprisoned in Azerbaijan for seeking to inform the public.

The RSF report notes that as the regime of Ilham Aliyev sinks deeper  into authoritarianism, repression against independent media is  reaching unprecedented levels. The organization noted that since  November 2023, a wave of arrests has targeted journalists who refuse  to submit to censorship.

"For more than two decades, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev has  methodically dismantled media pluralism in his country, and this  repression has been ramping since the fall of 2023. In the wake of  the conflict in Nagorno-Karabakh, where propaganda has replaced  public debate, the authorities are attempting to eradicate what  remains of the independent press. Mostly accused of "currency  smuggling" - essentially, of receiving grants from foreign  organizations - many journalists are languishing in prison simply for  doing their jobs - or for standing up for press freedom," RSF said in  a statement. The organization also noted that in a gallery created  and updated in real time, RSF showcases those who embody the bravery  of journalism in the face of repression. "They have continued  reporting and defending press freedom in a state that bans public  criticism, blocks access to information, and forces both public and  private institutions to silence dissenting voices," the journalistic  organization said, adding that the gallery currently includes  profiles of 25 journalists who are jailed in Azerbaijan.