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Assailants burst into the offices of the Nakchivan Resource Centre, the only independent human rights organisation operating in the northwest province of Azerbaijan, and brutally attacked Ilgar Nasibov, an independent journalist and rights activist, writes the British paper The Independent According to Human Rights Watch, the attack coincided with a wave of government repression designed to squash independent, critical voices in the oil rich country.

As it is noted in the article according to Nasibov, one of his assailants used brass knuckles to beat him, another grabbed hold of his neck to choke him and the remaining assailants ransacked the offices. They destroyed office equipment and left Nasibov unconscious in his own pool of blood in August last year. The article also notes that, three hours after the vicious attack, Nasibov gathered enough strength to make a life-saving phone call to his wife, award-winning journalist Malahat Nasibova, but by then he had already lost litres of blood.

According to Malahat Nasibova, this attack has been planned because of their activities in Nakhijevan. There have been some attempts of attack at their workplace and apartment, the couple was being pressed on, Malahat Nasibova has even received threats from the Ministry of National Security of Nakhijevan.

As the article reads the Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders, a joint programme of the World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT) and the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH), has expressed concern that the police reported the attack as, “an ordinary conflict between friends as a result of alcoholic intoxication.” The case has since been dropped, after the court ordered “a truce” and a mutual apology between one of the identified attackers and Nasibov. The remaining attackers are still unknown,” the article reads.

The Radio Free Europe reporter also claimed that the couple has been subjected to further "acts of intimidation" since the attack, but this time of a financial nature as the organization’s bank accounts have been banned.

The Committee to Protect Journalists Europe and Central Asia Program Coordinator Nina Ognianova called on the Azerbaijani authorities to immediately mount a thorough and effective investigation into his beating, focusing on Nasibov's journalism and human rights work.

“Azerbaijan has just completed its six month chairmanship at the Council of Europe, and is a founding member and board member of the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI), a prominent international coalition that promotes government openness in natural resource management. Human Rights Watch, however, has called for Azerbaijan's involvement in EITI to be suspended,” reminds the publication and adds that Azerbaijan ranks 160th out of 180 countries in the 2014 Reporters Without Borders press freedom index.