Azerbaijan

October 16, 2026 20:59

• Conference participants in Yerevan discussed the release and reintegration of prisoners.

  Participants of the international conference in Yerevan called for the release of all Armenians held in Azerbaijan and for preparing assistance in advance for those who will return. Lawyers pointed to international courts as a tool for pressure, while a sociologist noted the lack of psychological support for former prisoners.

October 16, 2026 16:01

• The authorities of Azerbaijan are trying to oppose the hijab and the national scarf.

  Protests in Azerbaijan against restrictions on religious clothing have effectively ceased amid detentions and pressure from the police, with reports of the 30-day arrest of Ilkin Guseynov, the founder of an online platform for educating children who are not allowed in schools due to wearing hijabs. At the same time, the authorities artificially oppose the hijab and the national scarf.

October 16, 2026 13:27

• Activists reported new arrests and dismissals related to the hijab ban in Azerbaijani schools.

  Authorities continue to arrest participants in protests against restrictions on wearing hijabs in Azerbaijani schools. One of the teachers who lost her job due to the protests said she was formally dismissed for not meeting the job requirements.

October 16, 2026 12:01

• Armenia announced the possibility of a referendum on the exchange of territories with Azerbaijan.

  No agreements on the exchange of enclaves and exclaves with Azerbaijan have been reached. The decision on the exchange should be put to a nationwide vote, said representatives of the Armenian authorities.

October 16, 2026 09:01

• A participant in the protests against the hijab ban has been arrested in Azerbaijan.

  A resident of the Absheron district, Fizuli Guseynov, has been sentenced to 30 days of arrest after a picket demanding the lifting of the ban on wearing hijabs in schools. Earlier, his son received the same punishment for protesting against the ban.

October 16, 2026 07:02

• The relatives of journalist Aslanov faced pressure due to the school dress code.

  The 13-year-old daughter of the imprisoned Baku journalist Polad Aslanov refused to comply with the ban on wearing a hijab at school despite pressure from teachers. Authorities threatened her mother with imprisonment for supporting protests against the school dress code.

October 16, 2026 01:56

• Analysts in Baku and Yerevan assessed the idea of enclave exchanges.

  The proposal by Nikol Pashinyan to exchange territories with Azerbaijan was perceived ambiguously by the political scientists from Armenia interviewed by "Caucasian Knot," pointing to legal complexities and security risks. Azerbaijani analysts considered the idea rational but opposed the retention of Artsvashen by Armenia.

October 15, 2026 12:58

• Two opposition members have been detained in Azerbaijan.

  Law enforcement officers detained a member of the opposition party Azerbaijan Popular Front, Elmaddin Muradov, in Baku; he has been sentenced to administrative arrest. Matanat Turan was detained in the Absheron district.

October 15, 2026 12:58

• Pashinyan announced plans to sign a peace agreement with Azerbaijan in five years.

  The task of the Armenian government is to complete the signing and ratification of a peace agreement with Azerbaijan by 2031, said Nikol Pashinyan.

October 15, 2026 09:59

• Reports about the hijab ban in medical institutions of Azerbaijan have been declared fake.

  Azerbaijani authorities denied the information that the ban on wearing hijabs, introduced in schools, extends to medical institutions.

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