Hilal Mamedov
Hilal Mamedov is a human rights defender and a consultant with the Institute for Democracy and Peace and editor in chief of Tolishi Sado (Talysh Voice), the only newspaper in the Talysh minority language. He was also the head of the Committee for the Defence of Novruzali Mamedov, a prominent Talysh scientist and human rights activist charged in June 2008 with espionage in favour of Iran and subsequently sentenced to 10 years of imprisonment. Novruzali Mamedov died as a result of torture in prison in 2010.
The space for human rights defenders (HRDs) and NGOs has been steadily shrinking in Azerbaijan. A number of legislative amendments have been adopted in recent years that restrict the work of HRDs and put their activities under strict governmental control. The roundup of the most prominent HRDs and their subsequent trials and imprisonment indicate that Azerbaijan is well on the road towards authoritarianism, seemingly adopting a Russian-style contempt of civil society.
