Arzu Geybulla

As Co-Executive Director at Access Now, Arzu Geybulla, with Dr. Alejandro Mayoral Baños, leads our mission of extending and defending the digital rights of people and communities at risk. She is an Azerbaijani journalist, writer, and human rights advocate who has contributed to numerous international outlets, including Al Jazeera, Foreign Policy, Open Democracy, and CNN International, where her writing has covered topics ranging from challenges and rights violations in Azerbaijan to regional geopolitics. She was the regional editor for South Caucasus and Turkey at Global Voices and a researcher on Azerbaijan at Human Rights Watch. She has also served as a speaker and panelist at international conferences and forums, sharing insights on media freedom, technology’s impact on civil liberties, and conflict resolution. In 2024, she co-founded Free Voices Collective, an initiative by exiled Azerbaijani journalists, activists, and rights defenders to lead international advocacy efforts focusing on the declining environment of rights and freedoms in Azerbaijan. She is the founder of Azerbaijan Internet Watch, a platform she launched in 2018 that documents and monitors digital information controls and their impact on civil society in Azerbaijan. In her independent capacity, Arzu continues her collaboration with various international organizations and initiatives focusing on Azerbaijan and beyond on issues such as transnational digital repression, the safety of women journalists online, and platform accountability, to name a few.