Emin and Adnan were having dinner in downtown restaurant in Baku over the summer, when suddenly the two video bloggers were attacked, later wound up in jail, and they remain behind bars today awaiting trial for the charge of “hooliganism”.
What happened in that restaurant that night? Who would be targetting video bloggers and grassroots youth acitivists in Azerbaijan? What is the situation for a journalist, blogger or a citizen reporter in that nation?
My guest is Azeri blogger Ali Novruzov, a friend of both Emin and Adnan who was among the first to hear what had happened. He has written and continues to write about their case and joins me in this podcast to discuss this issue.
It was one year ago that I was making my way to New Orleans. From there I travelled along the Gulf Coast, visiting communities and good friends, many who’s lives had been dramatically effected by the Federal Flood and hurricane Katrina.
Jay wrote to me a few weeks ago to say that he was heading there, to give some seminars or talks on videoblogging. More recently he sent me a message talking about how great it was to be there, and the good news: a new NOLA videoblog has launched. Despite all the great voices, like Dambala, Morwen, and Ray, who write about the city’s issues on a regular basis, there has long been a lack of consitent video blogging on these topics. Now, Citizen’s City Hall looks like a great contender to fill that void.
-Nice job Jay, and welcome CCH!