Today Azerbaijan takes up the chairmanship of the Council of Europe, the self-described “leading human rights organisation” on the continent. Meanwhile in Baku, the ruthless crackdown on so many of the freedoms protected in the European Convention on Human Rights continues unabated.

On the eve of World Press Freedom Day 2014, the press freedom situation in Azerbaijan is worse than perhaps ever before. Journalists and bloggers who dare to criticize the authorities or cover risky topics such as human rights abuses and corruption face a range of pressures, including harassment, intimidation, threats, blackmail, violent attack, and imprisonment.