A court in Azerbaijan has handed down sentences to nine staff members of Toplum TV, an independent outlet known for its investigations into corruption and coverage of social issues in the country. The harshest penalties were imposed on the project's co-founders, Akif Gurbanov and Ruslan Izzetli, who were each sentenced to 15 years in prison.

Over the past several weeks, a series of high-profile incidents across Russia has reignited debate over xenophobia, religious intolerance and the authorities’ response to alleged hate-motivated incidents.

Azerbaijan’s parliament, the Milli Majlis, has strongly rejected an amendment adopted by the U.S. House Foreign Affairs Committee calling for the release of Armenian prisoners, describing it as containing “unfounded accusations” against Azerbaijan and representing “another attempt to use the United States Congress as a tool of political pressure against Azerbaijan in the interests of the Armenian lobby.”