All Articles

Samira Gasimli The wife of jailed Azerbaijani political analyst Azer Gasimli has been formally charged with criminal defamation over Facebook posts she wrote defending her husband. Samira Gasimli faces up to six months in prison if convicted of slander and insult under the country's criminal code. The private prosecution was launched by Gurbanali Yusibov, the same businessman whose previous fraud and extortion complaint led to Mr Gasimli's 12-year prison sentence. At a hearin

A former shareholder in an Azerbaijani bus station has taken his case to the European Court of Human Rights, claiming local officials and courts illegally stripped him of his stake. Valeh Aliyev, who held a 14.1% stake in Salyan Avtovağzalı (Salyan Bus Station), alleges that his shares were deleted in 2022 during a forced liquidation of the joint-stock company. He claims the move was part of a wider effort by the majority shareholder and local authorities to cover up hundreds

The family of a jailed Azerbaijani devout Muslim has accused prison staff of beating him and withholding essential epilepsy medication following his transfer to a new facility. Yusif Mirzayev, who is serving a 15-year sentence, was allegedly assaulted by four officers at Prison No. 7 after arriving there on 20 June, according to his family. His family told that they observed visible injuries, including handcuff cuts on his wrists, bruising on his left ear, and marks on his th

Shirvan Karimov Russian authorities have revoked the citizenship of Shirvan Karimov, the leader of an Azerbaijani diaspora organisation in Samara, amid a growing diplomatic rift between Moscow and Baku. Mr Karimov was reportedly informed of the decision while visiting Azerbaijan, where he currently remains. Russian state agencies have not officially disclosed the grounds for his citizenship revocation. His case is the latest in a series of measures targeting Azerbaijani commu

Adam Kadyrov The 18-year-old son of Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov has been awarded a prestigious traffic police medal, weeks after posting footage of himself committing serious road violations. Adam Kadyrov, who serves as the head of Chechnya’s Security Council, received the commemorative jubilee medal marking the 90th anniversary of Russia's traffic police during a ceremony in Grozny on 3 July. The award has drawn scrutiny from independent media, which have repeatedly linked

Elgun Ibrahimov One year after 17-year-old schoolboy Elgun Ibrahimov died in Ganja, Azerbaijani authorities face growing pressure over allegations of a cover-up and the violent suppression of public protests. Ibrahimov was found severely injured in an abandoned hostel in Azerbaijan’s second-largest city in May last year and later died in hospital. While pro-government media outlets and local law enforcement quickly characterised the death as a suicide or an accidental fall fr

Iqbal Abilov An imprisoned Azerbaijani ethnic minority researcher has launched a defamation lawsuit against four domestic media outlets, accusing them of violating his presumption of innocence following his high treason conviction. Iqbal Abilov, the chief editor of the Talysh National Academy News, appeared at the Yasamal District Court in Baku on Tuesday. His civil action targets state-aligned broadcaster ATV, the Trend news agency, and news portals Hit.az and Qafqazinfo. Mr

Zabil Gahramanov The trial of a prominent Azerbaijani lawyer has opened in the western city of Ganja, months after he accused local police of corruption and abuse of power. Zabil Gahramanov, who has been held in pre-trial detention since October last year, faces four charges, including hooliganism and fraud, which he rejects as politically motivated. He was recently transferred from the Baku Investigative Detention Centre in Kurdakhani to Ganja Detention Centre No. 2. A preli

An Armenian court has detained the prominent tycoon and opposition leader Gagik Tsarukyan for two months over allegations of a $22m (£17m) fraud and money laundering scheme. Tsarukyan, who leads the Prosperous Armenia party, was arrested on Tuesday following a 12-hour search of his home and offices by national security agents. The Investigative Committee said he led a criminal group that defrauded Iranian logistics firms of 52 vehicles and equipment under the guise of setting

The trial of 12 Azerbaijani journalists linked to the independent outlet Meydan TV has restarted under a new panel of judges after the previous presiding judge was promoted. Presiding judge Zaur Hajiyev took over the case at the Baku Grave Crimes Court on 3 July, replacing Ayten Aliyeva, who was recently appointed to the Baku Court of Appeal. A new prosecutor, Vusal Abdullayev, was also appointed to lead the state's case. At the hearing, defence lawyers made unsuccessful bids

Russia's parliament has approved the first reading of a bill that doubles the number of administrative offences triggering the deportation of foreign nationals. The Chairman of the State Duma, Vyacheslav Volodin, said the list of offences had been expanded to 45 from an initial proposal of 43 following suggestions from MPs. Volodin said on his Telegram channel that the measures aimed to "ensure public safety" and "establish order" in migration. The latest additions to the dra

Mammad Alpay A jailed Azerbaijani activist has protested against deteriorating conditions and restricted family visits at a detention facility in the capital, Baku. Mammad Alpay, head of the Election Monitoring Alliance, said open-contact visits with his immediate family had been effectively blocked for six months. Alpay is currently being held at the Baku Detention House while on trial for multiple financial charges he says are politically motivated. "During this period, onl

An Azerbaijani religious prisoner has been placed in solitary confinement for reciting the Islamic call to prayer in his cell, his family has said. Amil Yusifov, who is serving a five-and-a-half-year sentence, was transferred to a disciplinary cell at Penal Facility No. 12, according to his wife, Turkan Yusifova. Yusifova said the prison director, Javid Safarov, confirmed the punishment was for a disciplinary violation after Yusifov recited the adhan. "He recited the call to

Ali Karimli The family of jailed Azerbaijani opposition leader Ali Karimli say he is suffering from severe sleep deprivation after authorities refused to transfer a mentally ill cellmate placed in his room. Mr Karimli, the chairman of the opposition Azerbaijani Popular Front Party (AXCP), has reportedly seen his health deteriorate significantly in recent weeks. The AXCP said in a statement on 2 July that the cellmate was moved into Mr Karimli’s cell in mid-June, shortly after

Akram Aylisli The Azerbaijani novelist Akram Aylisli has won the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) 2026 Literature Prize for his Soviet-era trilogy, People and Trees. The €20,000 (£16,800) prize, which celebrates translated literary fiction from countries where the bank operates, will be split equally between the author and his English translator, Katherine E. Young. Aylisli's work beat Polish writer Jacek Dukaj's novel Ice and Egyptian author Shadi Lewi

An Azerbaijani activist has been held in solitary confinement for 26 days without family contact, his lawyer and relatives have said. Nijat Ibrahim, who is serving a six-and-a-half-year prison sentence, was last allowed to speak to his family on 6 June. His wife, Parvin Ibrahimova, told the Azerbaijani service of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) that the lack of information had led them to fear he was dead. "We thought he was either in a coma or that something had hap

Namizad Safarov An imprisoned Azerbaijani lawyer and government critic has pleaded not guilty to large-scale fraud at a court in Baku, saying he has never met or spoken to the woman he is accused of swindling. Namizad Safarov, 72, has been held in custody since 9 December last year on charges of defrauding a woman of 53,000 Azerbaijani manats (£24,500; $31,000) by promising to secure her a hospital job. Speaking at the Baku Grave Crimes Court on 2 July, Mr Safarov rejected th

The president of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) has warned that Azerbaijan must release key political prisoners and lift travel bans before it can rejoin the human rights body. Petra Bayr told Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) that there has been "no change in a positive direction" regarding human rights in Azerbaijan over recent months. Relations between Baku and the Strasbourg-based Council of Europe broke down in January 2024, when the as

Ursula von der Leyen European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has arrived in Azerbaijan for a working visit, facing intense pressure from jailed activists and journalists to address the country’s human rights record. Ms von der Leyen's talks in Baku are expected to focus on energy and transport cooperation, the Middle Corridor transit route, and the ongoing peace process between Azerbaijan and Armenia. However, her arrival has been overshadowed by coordinated appeal

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has met Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev in Baku, amid calls from jailed journalists to address the country's human rights record. The one-on-one meeting took place on 1 July following Mrs von der Leyen's arrival in the capital, where she was met by Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov and the European Union (EU) commissioner for enlargement, Marta Kos. The EU chief is scheduled to travel to Armenia following her visit to Azerb