Speaking of the truth though, the crackdown on protesters in Georgia has been brutal. Police have fired water cannon, teargas, stun grenades and rubber bullets to break up peaceful rallies. They have detained scores of protesters. Journalists have been attacked. Local media also showed a pro-government deputy throwing a book at opposition MPs, while Levan Khabeishvili – the leader of Georgia’s main opposition party – posted a photo of his badly beaten face. He responded with tenacity. “If my beating prevented that of another, young activist, I’m only happy it happened to me,” Khabeishvili said, adding: “This country belongs to the passionate next generation.”

Over the border in Azerbaijan the rights situation is even worse. The nation wants to improve its international standing through the hosting of COP29 later this year. Leaving aside the irony of this (oil and gas exports account for around 90% of Azerbaijan’s exports), there are other things it needs to do if it is serious about polishing up its reputation. Let’s start with treating dissidents, or even just entry-level critics, better. The stories of them getting heavy-handed with anyone who exposes government wrongdoing are coming thick and fast.
 
A few weeks back I met Ibad Bayramov, who told me about the plight of his father, Dr Gubad Ibadoghlu. Gubad is a well-respected academic and a current research fellow at LSE. He has been in prison since last July after he published an article about the country’s involvement with Russian gas. Ibad told me his father’s health has deteriorated to extreme levels. The case has received a trickle of press attention and this week the pressure seems to have mounted. Writing in the Daily Express, people behind the campaign have asked the UK government to take action and said this of Ibadoghlu: 

“Dr Gubad Ibadoghlu has done much to highlight what’s wrong in Azerbaijan. Tragically, he has now become a living embodiment of it." 

Another person fighting to expose corruption in the country and also becoming a "living embodiment" of what's wrong is human rights defender Anar Mammadli, who was this week detained. Mammadli is leader of the country’s largest independent watchdog, EMDS. Azerbaijan recently went to the polls and before and after voting Mammadli and EMDS were targeted by state-controlled media in a relentless smear campaign. “We fear that his detention, so soon after the elections, is an act of retaliation for this independent and legitimate election observation efforts and human rights work” read a Human Rights House statement that Index signed.

Azerbaijan and Georgia, two nations tied together by a shared border and by a growing disrespect for free expression. The people there deserve so much better and we will continue to spotlight any violations. But maybe we're just being paid by the CIA to do that*? 

Jemimah Steinfeld, editor-in-chief 

*we are not