Since June this year, police have been preventing journalists from visiting the village of Seyudlu in western Azerbaijan. Residents there protested against gold mining by a British company, and the demonstrations were harshly suppressed.

The last time reporters entered the village was on June 22. Nargiz Absalyamova, Nigar Mubariz and Elesever Muradzade were detained by police during protests by local residents. They represented Voice of America and other independent media and were forcibly removed from Seyudlu.

On June 23, journalist Elmaddin Shamilzadeh was arrested in Baku. He was beaten and later forced to remove posts from social networks about police violence against village residents.

The reason for the protests was the announcement by Anglo Asian Mining PLC about the construction of a second artificial lake to store gold mining waste. This could cause an environmental crisis and deterioration in the health of people who previously complained about soil and water pollution.

Reporters Without Borders called on the Azerbaijani authorities to allow independent journalists into Seyudla.