The latest news on this front comes from a really interesting article from Human Right Watch:

Azerbaijani authorities re-arrested a youth activist two weeks after he was pardoned for a bogus drug conviction and freed, Human Rights Watch said today.

The activist, Bayram Mammadov, is a member of NIDA (Azeri for “Exclamation Mark”), a youth opposition movement that typically is highly critical of the government. He had been serving the10-year sentence since May 2016 on bogus drug possession charges after spraying satirical graffiti on the monument of a former president. He was released on March 16, 2019 under a presidential pardon. A day before he was rearrested, Mammadov gave an interview to a local online media outlet criticizing the authorities.

“Bayram Mammadov’s re-arrest is yet another example of the Azerbaijani government’s intolerance to criticism and contempt for free speech,” said Giorgi Gogia, associate Europe and Central Asia director at Human Rights Watch. “The Azerbaijani authorities should immediately free him and ensure accountability for his detention including any ill-treatment.”

Read the full article at Human Right Watch.