When Human Rights Watch's Georgi Gogia heard that several independent journalists were handed lengthy sentences this week by a court in the Azerbaijani capital, Baku, he didn't know what motivated the judge. "An unmistakable warning: anyone involved in independent journalism or civic activism risks losing a substantial part of their life in prison," Gogia, deputy director, of HRW's Europe and Central Asia Division, told RFE/RL on July 30. Yet Azerbaijani authorities consistently deny these characterizations. "The chilling effect will be profound," Gogia said of the Toplum sentences. The Azerbaijani authorities have occasionally released people following sustained international pressure or for political reasons.