Reporters Without Borders (RSF) is dismayed to learn that Azerbaijani news website editor Elchin Ismayilli has joined the long list of journalists held on trumped-up charges in Azerbaijan. At least 12 journalists, bloggers and media workers are now detained in this Caucasian republic.

A former reporter for various independent media including the newspaper Azadlig and Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty’s Azerbaijani service, Ismayilli is the founder and editor of Kend.info, a website that covers local corruption and human rights violations. He has often been the target of harassment by the local authorities in the past, including physical violence, arrests and defamation suits.

“Baku’s international partners cannot continue to stand by while journalists are being packed into Azerbaijan’s prisons,” said Johann Bihr, the head of RSF’s Eastern Europe and Central Asia desk.

“The contempt shown by the Azerbaijani authorities for their human rights obligations needs an urgent response from the international community. A firm stand is all the more necessary because several of the detained journalists have serious health problems that are being exacerbated by imprisonment.”

Azerbaijan is ranked 163rd out of 180 countries in RSF’s 2016 World Press Freedom Index. In September 2016, a referendum reinforced the already considerable powers of President Ilham Aliyev, who is on RSF’s list of “press freedom predators.” Yesterday he appointed his wife as first vice-president, elevating her to the position of the country’s second-most senior official.