"Freedom House" finds Internet not free in Russia and Azerbaijan

Out of the countries of the former USSR located in the Caucasus, the freedom of Internet exists only in Armenia and Georgia; while human rights defenders treat the Internet in Azerbaijan and Russia as not free.

On November 5, on its website, the human rights organization "Freedom House" published its annual "Freedom on the Net-2019" rating of the Internet freedom in different countries of the world.

The "Freedom House" conducted its study in 65 countries of the world, in which 87% of all the Internet users on the planet live.

China has been named the main adversary of the free Internet in the world; while rights defenders regard Iceland to be the freest country.

Armenia scored 76 points and took the eighth place in the rating, while Georgia with its 75 points took the 19th place in the list of free countries. The "Freedom House" considers the Internet in Azerbaijan and Russia to be not free: Azerbaijan took the 45th place with 39 points; and Russia was rated the 51st with 31 points.

The "Freedom House" has treated the disconnection of the Internet in Ingushetia during mass protests; the blocking the Telegram messenger, as well as reprisals against particular users as manifestations of the non-free Internet in Russia. In 2018, according to estimates of the "Freedom House", in Russia, on the average, one user was put in jail for speaking on the Internet every eight days, the BBC reported on November 5.

This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on November 6, 2019 at 06:19 am MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.