Arzu Geybulla became Co-Executive Director at Access Now in January 2026.
Growing up, my world was shaped by the scarcity of the post-Soviet years and the rigid expectations of a patriarchal society. I was born and raised in Baku, Azerbaijan, a country marked by decades of systemic repression and persistent human rights violations. Witnessing my country consolidating into an authoritarian state gave me an early and sobering education about the cost of unchecked power. At the same time, it also helped me to understand privilege, resilience, and systems of inequality; all of which are lessons that continue to guide my work today.
I began my career in Istanbul, Türkiye. After a short-lived stint in the private sector, I joined the European Stability Initiative, while simultaneously blogging about Azerbaijan for international audiences. That blog became my first foray into journalism. Not long after, I returned home to work with the National Democratic Institute. At the time, repression was just starting to escalate. Little did I know that friends and colleagues would soon face arrests, intimidation, and public defamation campaigns, while international organizations would be forced out entirely.
I eventually returned to Istanbul, where I worked on conflict transformation initiatives between Armenian and Azerbaijani communities, while continuing my work as a journalist and researcher. Over the following years, I served as South Caucasus and Türkiye Regional Editor at Global Voices and as Azerbaijan Researcher at Human Rights Watch. I also co-founded an advocacy collective for exiled Azerbaijanis focused on ensuring that repression at home would not be met with silence abroad. Along the way, I also collaborated with organizations and coalitions including Freedom House, Prague Civil Society Centre, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), Index on Censorship, and The Citizen Lab, among others.
The more vocal I became about the realities of authoritarian rule in my country, the more I was targeted by authorities and harassed online. That experience profoundly shaped the next phase of my work, pushing me to focus more closely on surveillance, digital repression, and defending digital rights. I know firsthand how fragile our rights and freedoms are, and how easily they can be taken away when power goes unchecked. In 2014, I lost the ability to return home entirely. I have now lived in exile for more than a decade.
But I am far from alone. Over the years, I’ve been part of a broader network of Azerbaijani journalists and activists navigating similar realities. We often relied on Access Now’s Digital Security Helpline for immediate and practical support. This personal experience of how Access Now supports at-risk communities defending their digital rights later led me to join the organization’s Board. Today, it brings me to a new role, serving as Co-Executive Director alongside Alejandro Mayoral Baños.
As I step into this role, I am guided by one simple principle: digital rights are human rights. At a time when governments are adopting increasingly sophisticated tools of control and repression, and when technology companies play an ever greater role in shaping the global information ecosystem, it is more important than ever to remain focused on what matters. We must continue strengthening what works, supporting those on the frontlines, and standing with communities whose rights and freedoms are under threat. Ultimately, the goal is simple: to ensure that technology serves people, especially those most at risk, rather than the powerful few.