2011 Azerbaijani protests

2011 Azerbaijani protests
Date	11 March 2011 – 11 September 2011
Location	Azerbaijan
Caused by	Corruption, unemployment, low wages, political differences, political repression[1][2]
Goals	Democratic reforms, release of political prisoners, resignation of President Ilham Aliyev and Prime Minister Artur Rasizade[2][3]
Methods	Civil resistance, demonstrations, hunger strikes, online activism
Casualties
Arrested	469+[4][5][6][7]

The 2011 Azerbaijani protests were a series of demonstrations held to protest the government of President Ilham Aliyev. Common themes espoused by demonstrators, many of whom were affiliated with Müsavat and the Popular Front Party, the main opposition parties in Azerbaijan, included doubts as to the legitimacy of the 2008 presidential election, desire for the release of political prisoners, calls for democratic reforms, and demands that Aliyev and his government resign from power. Azerbaijani authorities responded with a security crackdown, dispersing protests and curtailing attempts to gather with force and numerous arrests.

The European Union, the United States Department of State, Amnesty International, and other organizations called on the government to release political prisoners and allow for free assembly. Meanwhile, Azerbaijani Prosecutor General Zakir Qaralov vowed to "suppress" protests, comparing them to incidents in "other countries" and saying that the government would not allow them to go forward.^[8]