The Region in Brief

Artsakh

Azerbaijan’s blockade of Artsakh entered its third month this week. The natural gas supply to Artsakh was disrupted on February 9 for the eighth time since the closure of the Lachin Corridor on December 12, which the Artsakh government blamed on Azerbaijani interference. Artsakh authorities say that the energy system has been overloaded by the cold weather and lack of gas and electricity supply, leading to accidents. Households have been losing power for six hours a day under a government mandated rolling blackout. However, residents have been losing power for longer periods of time due to the pressure on the energy grid. The energy crisis has also caused a series of fires, including a fire at the central headquarters of the Armenian Revolutionary Federation (ARF) in Artsakh. The building security guard suffered burns and was hospitalized. Artsakh authorities also expanded the food distribution system on February 13. In addition to rice, sugar, buckwheat, pasta and oil, residents can use government-issued coupons to purchase eggs, fruit and vegetables.

Azerbaijan

The US State Department has called for the “expeditious release” of Azerbaijani political prisoner Bakhtiyar Hajiyev. “We are deeply troubled that Azerbaijani activist Bakhtiyar Hajiyev has remained in detention since the eve of International Human Rights Day, last December, and that he continues to face charges widely understood as politically motivated,” US State Department spokesperson Ned Price said in a press statement on February 11. Hajiyev was arrested on December 9 on charges of hooliganism and has been on hunger strike since January 9. He was hospitalized on February 10 and risks entering a coma. The Baku Court of Appeals denied his request to be released on bail on January 24 due to worsening health and upheld his pre-trial detention until the end of February.

Georgia

Russian women’s rights activist Anna Rivina has been denied re-entry into Georgia two days after being declared a foreign agent by the Russian government. Rivina is the director of Nasiliu.Net, a non-profit organization that provides shelter and other services to survivors of domestic violence. She has lived in Georgia for several months but was barred from entry on February 12 after a working trip to Yerevan. While hundreds of thousands of Russians have fled to Georgia following the invasion of Ukraine, there have been widespread reports that people critical of the Russian government have not been allowed to enter Georgia. Olga Borisova, a member of the band Pussy Riot, and David Frenkel, a reporter for a Russian outlet that has refused to censor news about the war in Ukraine, are among the Russians who have been denied entry to Georgia.

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Lillian Avedian

Lillian Avedian is the assistant editor of the Armenian Weekly. She reports on international women's rights, South Caucasus politics, and diasporic identity. Her writing has also been published in the Los Angeles Review of Books, Democracy in Exile, and Girls on Key Press. She holds master's degrees in journalism and Near Eastern studies from New York University.