Arzu Geybulla
@arzugeybulla.bsky.social
Co-Executive Director, Access Now Journalist
For 10 years, the #KeepItOn campaign has united civil society to push back against internet shutdowns and defend human rights. Today, the movement is stronger than ever. Celebrate with us and join the #KeepItOn movement: www.accessnow.org/keepiton-10-...
https://www.accessnow.org/keepiton-10-years-fighting-internet-shutdowns/
accessnow.org
A new investigation by the @citizenlab.ca has confirmed evidence that Russian authorities used Israeli surveillance firm Cellebrite’s UFED to hack into an iPhone of Andrey Pivovarov, a prominent Russian activist and former political prisoner. www.accessnow.org/cellebrite-r... via @accessnow.org
Russia used Cellebrite tech to hack prominent activist
A Citizen Lab investigation confirms evidence Russian authorities used Cellebrite tool to hack prominent Russian activist Andrey Pivovarov after the Cellebrite claimed to have ceased sales to Russia.
accessnow.org
Pegasus strikes again! Access Now alongside more than 30 human rights orgs + individuals demand a full investigation into the hacking of Stelios Kouloglou, a Greek journalist and former Member of the European Parliament. Read more: www.accessnow.org/press-releas...
Same government, more victims: Access Now calls for an urgent investigation into hacking of MEP - Access Now
Access Now joins more than 20 human rights organizations and individuals in condemning Pegasus spyware attack against Stelios Kouloglou, Greek journalist and then-Member of the European Parliament
accessnow.org
Deaths in US ICE custody have surged under US President Donald Trump. 52 people died in ICE custody during the first 500 days of Trump’s second term, reflecting a soaring mortality rate. ICYMI: Read our recent report with Physicians for Human Rights:
US: Deaths in ICE Custody Surge Under Trump
The rate of people dying in US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) custody has soared, with at least 52 deaths reported since the start of President Donald Trump's current administration.
hrw.org
Hundreds of contractors working on a project for Meta pretended to be kids in order to see how other chatbots like Gemini and ChatGPT would respond to high-risk subjects, WIRED found.
Meta Contractors Posed as Teens to Prompt Rival Chatbots About Suicide, Sex, and Drugs
Hundreds of contractors working on a project for Meta pretended to be kids in order to see how other chatbots like Gemini and ChatGPT would respond to high-risk subjects, WIRED found.
wrd.cm
Weaponizing Online Dissent a New Tool in Escalating Transnational Repression www.hrw.org/news/2026/06...
Azerbaijan: Exiled Critics Convicted in Absentia
Azerbaijani authorities are prosecuting critics in exile, often based on social media posts and online commentary, Human Rights Watch said today. Those targeted, often convicted in absentia with long ...
hrw.org
Access Now, the group that organizes RightsCon, says Zambian officials asked it to exclude Taiwanese participants if it wanted the event to proceed as planned. www.wired.com/story/the-ch...
The Chinese Government Just Got the World’s Largest Digital Rights Conference Canceled
Access Now, the group that organizes RightsCon, says Zambian officials asked it to exclude Taiwanese participants if it wanted the event to proceed as planned.
wired.com
Confirming Internet censorship is rarely as simple as “up” or “down”, blocked or not. I wrote a blog post for @isoc-pulse.bsky.social about challenges in measuring Internet censorship, emerging censorship trends, and how Internet measurement powers advocacy pulse.internetsociety.org/en/blog/2026...
Measuring Internet Censorship: Challenges, Trends, and Impact — Internet Society Pulse
OONI crowdsourced network measurement data enables research and supports advocacy and rapid response to Internet censorship events.
pulse.internetsociety.org
At Wired, @telliotter.bsky.social and @zeyiyang.bsky.social moved fast to get the inside story on the cancellation of RightsCon: sources say the PRC pressured Zambian authorities to exclude Taiwanese participants.
The Chinese Government Just Got the World’s Largest Digital Rights Conference Canceled
Access Now, the group that organizes RightsCon, says Zambian officials asked it to exclude Taiwanese participants if it wanted the event to proceed as planned.
wired.com
Truly honored to support and recognize my colleagues who, instead of bending to pressures, took a principled position to back dissenters and resist the further encroachment of civic space. We are stronger when we stand together ✊ @arzugeybulla.bsky.social @accessnow.org
Maura Elizabeth Cunningham@mauracunningham.bsky.social · 4mo agoAt Wired, @telliotter.bsky.social and @zeyiyang.bsky.social moved fast to get the inside story on the cancellation of RightsCon: sources say the PRC pressured Zambian authorities to exclude Taiwanese participants.
Another round of layoffs and cessation of an entire division at RFE/RL. This time, it was Ekho Kavkaza, a Russian-language service covering news from Georgia and the self-proclaimed republics of Abkhazia and South Ossetia. www.ekhokavkaza.com/a/33748066.h... oc-media.org/rfe-rls-russ...
О закрытии Радио «Эхо Кавказа»
Уважаемые читатели, Радио «Эхо Кавказа», русскоязычное подразделение RFE/RL, ориентированное на аудиторию в Грузии и самопровозглашенных республиках Абхазия и Южная Осетия, прекратило свою работу 1 ...
ekhokavkaza.com
Following our April 29 announcement, we believe it's important to be transparent about the context that led to the decision. We want to explain, where we can, why this was made on such short notice, only days before we were set to host RightsCon. Read: www.rightscon.org/rc26-stateme...
A statement to our community about why RightsCon 2026 will not take place in Zambia
Our official statement to the digital rights community about why RightsCon 2026 will not take place in Zambia
rightscon.org
The Chinese Government Just Got the World’s Largest Digital Rights Conference Canceled www.wired.com/story/the-ch...
The Chinese Government Just Got the World’s Largest Digital Rights Conference Canceled
Access Now, the group that organizes RightsCon, says Zambian officials asked it to exclude Taiwanese participants if it wanted the event to proceed as planned.
wired.com
Arzu Geybulla didn't just study repression — she lived it. Grew up under it. Is targeted by it. And has spent more than a decade in exile because of it. In our latest blog, our new Co-Executive Director reflects on her path leading her to Access Now. Read more: www.accessnow.org/fighting-for...
Fighting for fragile freedoms, online and off
Access Now’s new Co-Executive Director reflects on her journey fighting for human rights in the digital age.
accessnow.org
From Iran during the early hours of the war -Iranians continue…
Some personal news to share.
Access Now@accessnow.org · 6mo agoExciting announcement from Access Now 🎉 After more than 15 years of operations, we are transitioning to a co-leadership model and are thrilled to welcome @arzugeybulla.bsky.social as our new Co-Executive Director alongside Alejandro Mayoral Baños. Read more: ⬇️ www.accessnow.org/press-releas...
![Text that reads:
Meet Arzu Geybulla, our new
Co-Executive Director at Access Now
I am delighted to take on this new role of Co-Executive Director at Access Now. Communities on the frontlines of defending rights, and fighting for accountability and transparency — online and off — are facing sustained and escalating attacks, as powerful global actors retreat from the responsibility they once claimed. [...] In this context, organizations like Access Now must be clear about where we stand: as strong, principled partners that do not sidestep pressure, but instead use our position to support, protect, and amplify the communities most impacted.
-Arzu Geybulla](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:gbsyu4upaze2bsig4e3u45kz/bafkreifztwmtdtlpop6wkvmuyadscmgiz5up7hdhismxp6mskw526mjk5q)
Azerbaijan Expands Crackdown on Activists in Exile These cases reflect an expanding pattern of transnational repression against Azerbaijani critics abroad, raising serious concerns about the safety of diaspora communities. www.hrw.org/news/2026/02... via @hrw.org
Azerbaijan Expands Crackdown on Activists in Exile
Courts in Azerbaijan have handed down further politically motivated in-absentia convictions against journalists, bloggers, and other critics of the government living abroad, expanding the authorities’...
hrw.org
“One of the most persistent violences in these conversations is the assumption of choice. This situation is often presented as if it were the result of a decision we, as Venezuelans, made – or failed to make correctly – as if we had endless options.” shado-mag.com/articles/opi...
Venezuela: Selective outrage and the people it leaves behind
Thoughts from a Venezuelan writer about what is happening in Venezuela and how language of 'anti-imperialism' is ignoring victims
shado-mag.com
Brutal Police Raid on LGBT-friendly Venue in Azerbaijan www.hrw.org/news/2026/01... via @hrw.org
Brutal Police Raid on LGBT-friendly Venue in Azerbaijan
Last month, Azerbaijani police raided a venue in the capital Baku, known as a safe space for LGBT people, and detained over 100 people.
hrw.org
After taking to the streets, people in Iran have now been disconnected from the rest of the world for more than five days. That’s +120 hours in the dark! Alongside +19 orgs, we demand that authorities immediately restore internet access and uphold rights. www.accessnow.org/press-releas...
Access Now - #KeepItOn: Iran plunged into digital darkness, concealing human rights abuses
join the international community, including the UN’s Independent International Fact-Finding Mission, in calling on Iran to immediately restore internet and mobile communications and in demanding accou...
accessnow.org
This was such a delight to edit and work on. Our latest story for @globalvoices.org "Queer cinema in Azerbaijan tells stories of visibility and survival" globalvoices.org/2025/12/04/q... Kudos to the author for putting this piece together.
Queer cinema in Azerbaijan tells stories of visibility and survival
These films transform personal struggles into collective narratives, illustrating how survival, memory, and the quest for belonging are intertwined with the creation of queer cinematic histories.
globalvoices.org
With a slight delay. My latest on Istanbul mayor's indictment for @globalvoices.org "The sentence demanded in the case of jailed Istanbul mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu is 2,430 years" globalvoices.org/2025/12/03/t...
The sentence demanded in the case of jailed Istanbul mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu is 2,430 years
The opposition Republican People's Party (CHP), which İmamoğlu represents, has condemned the case as politically driven — arguing the timing and scope are aimed at sidelining a major political opponen...
globalvoices.org
My latest: “Ultimately, as long as the same government that calls for dialogue also decides who can speak, gestures of openness should be viewed with cautious skepticism.” www.balcanicaucaso.org/cp_article/a...
Armenia e Azerbaijian, dialogo o performance? - Osservatorio Balcani Caucaso Transeuropa
Armenia e Azerbaijan, dopo la seconda guerra per il Nagorno Karabakh, sembrano sempre più vicini ad un processo di normalizzazione dei rapporti. Analisti e attivisti dei due paesi però non sono del tu...
balcanicaucaso.org
Azerbaijan Escalates Crackdown on Exiled Critics www.hrw.org/news/2025/11...
Azerbaijan Escalates Crackdown on Exiled Critics
Azerbaijani authorities are escalating their campaign against independent and critical voices abroad, issuing arrest warrants and summonses for exiled journalists, activists, and analysts on what appe...
hrw.org
Reporters Without Borders (RSF) has named Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and Georgian Dream founder Bidzina Ivanishvili as ‘press freedom predators’ for their roles in repressing press freedom in their countries. oc-media.org/ivanishvili-...
Ivanishvili and Aliyev named ‘press freedom predators’ by RSF
The two were included in a list of 34 other freedom predators by the organisation.
oc-media.org
Is Turkey a state of law? Critics highlight long-standing patterns of politicization and lack of institutional insulation from executive power - my latest for @globalvoices.org globalvoices.org/2025/11/02/i...
Is Turkey a state of law?
If the Minguzzi case shines a light on general institutional frailty, the prosecutions of prominent figures in the opposition CHP demonstrate how legal tools are being marshalled for political ends..
globalvoices.org
Wrote a little something about what happened to the “éminence grise” for @balcanicaucaso.org #Azerbaijan: when the mighty fall out of favor www.balcanicaucaso.org/eng/Areas/Az...
Azerbaijan: when the mighty fall out of favor
Once enjoying extensive powers and considered Azerbaijan's eminence grise, Ramiz Mehdiyev has recently fallen out of favor, accused of plotting a coup and placed under house arrest. A case in point of...
balcanicaucaso.org
