As many as 100 representatives of the global media are converging today on Azerbaijan's glittering Caspian shoreline to watch a weekend of car racing. The Baku World Challenge is a jewel in the heavily burnished crown of the re-elected President, Ilham Aliyev, a man who would rather the media be dazzled than dwell on his increasingly relaxed approach to democracy, human rights, and press freedom.
This was an opportunity to scrutinise Azerbaijan's relentless, oil-fuelled march to market itself abroad as a centre for commerce and tourism. A car race alone might not have provided all the answers. What was it about life under President Aliyev that they did not want me to see?
