The documentary follows German parliamentarian Frank Schwabe, member of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe and an advocate of democracy and human rights in Azerbaijan. In his work, he uncovered a system that rewarded some European politicians for looking the other way when elections in Azerbaijan were rigged and keeping quiet when opposition members were persecuted. The film also traces the fate of Maltese investigative journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia. She revealed links between businesspeople in Malta, members of the European Parliament, and Azerbaijan — and paid for it with her life.

“As a result of the September 2023 expulsion of Nagorno-Karabakh’s Armenian population, our Spring 2024 monitoring expanded to include 181 additional sites, bringing our total current inventory to 489 sites distributed across more than 7000 km2”, said the report.

“The most visible impacts continue to take place in the town of Shusha/Shushi where, in addition to the erasure of the 18-19th century Ghazanchetsots cemetery, we documented the demolition of the 1847 Surb Hovhannes Mkrtich Church (Kanach Zham). Elsewhere, a sacred place, known as Kohak, was also destroyed. It contained three khachkars dating to the 9th and 13th centuries. Yet another historic cemetery containing 19th and early 20th century tombstones, this one near Garabulag/Aknaghbyur, was also destroyed, along with the ruins of the shrine (or maturr) in the middle of the cemetery”.

“Western journalists were refused entry to an energy industry conference in Azerbaijan earlier this month, reigniting concerns over the state’s crackdown on the media ahead of crucial UN climate talks in Baku later this year. At least three journalists from the UK and France have told the Guardian that they felt ‘unsafe’ after they were denied entry to the Baku Energy Week forum, despite registering with the event organisers weeks in advance”, said The Guardian.

“The journalists said they were not given a valid reason why they had been turned away, but they chose to leave the venue after ‘frightening’ and ‘intimidating’ encounters with the organisers. The conference was held shortly before research by Human Rights Watch revealed at least 25 instances of the arrest or sentencing of journalists and activists in Azerbaijan over the past year, almost all of whom remain in custody”.

Read the article by Emily Lush published by National Geographic:

The statement published by Armenia’s MFA states that Armenia rejects violence against civilians and supports international calls for a ceasefire in Gaza.

It also mentions that Armenia has backed UN General Assembly resolutions calling for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza.

“We are convinced that this is the only way to ensure that both Palestinians and Israelis can fulfill their legitimate aspirations. Based on the above and reaffirming our commitment to international law and the principles of equality, sovereignty, and peaceful coexistence of peoples, the Republic of Armenia recognizes the State of Palestine” reads the statement.

The article entitled “Strange Lobbying Campaign of the Week” reveals that Politico “received an email from a PR firm about what it described as Russian influence operations in Europe” that “focused exclusively on one man”, Ruben Vardanyan.

According to Politico, the PR campaign claimed that MEPs Viola von Cramon-Taubadel and Karen Melchior “had backed a motion calling on the Nobel Prize Committee to recognize Vardanyan as a Russian agent and rule him out as a potential recipient of the award”, but they both told Politico that “they had done no such thing, suggesting their words had been deliberately taken out of context to support Azerbaijan’s talking points”