Azerbaijan opposition leader's prison conditions 'worsened', party says

Ali Karimli

The main opposition Azerbaijan Popular Front Party (AXCP) says prison authorities have significantly worsened the detention conditions of its jailed leader, Ali Karimli.

In a statement, the AXCP said Mr Karimli was moved to a new cell and subjected to a harsher regime following a family visit.

The party claims he has been deprived of a television and radio, while newspapers brought by his lawyers are being blocked. His daily outdoor exercise time of two hours has also been restricted, the organisation said.

Azerbaijani officials have not commented on the allegations.

Mr Karimli has been held in custody since 29 November 2025, when police raided his home in the capital, Baku.

On 10 June, the Sabail District Court in Baku extended his pre-trial detention by a further five months, meaning he will remain in custody until at least 13 November.

Mr Karimli and Mammad Ibrahim, a senior member of the AXCP executive board, both face charges under Article 278.1 of the criminal code, which relates to attempting to forcibly overthrow the constitutional order.

The charge carries a maximum penalty of life imprisonment. Both men deny the accusations.

The AXCP has previously alleged that prison officials restricted Mr Karimli's telephone calls after he answered questions from local and international journalists during family phone sessions.

Pro-government media outlets have linked the arrests of the AXCP officials to an ongoing investigation into Ramiz Mehdiyev, the powerful former head of Azerbaijan’s Presidential Administration.

Mr Mehdiyev is currently under house arrest. He faces charges of high treason, attempting to seize state power, and money laundering.

The AXCP says that during the search of Mr Karimli’s home, security officers placed a letter purportedly from Mr Mehdiyev into a desk drawer to construct a "fabricated and groundless" connection between the two men.

The party has maintained that the charges are entirely politically motivated.

"Ali Karimli remains one of the main democratic figures in Azerbaijan," the AXCP said in a statement, adding that his international media appearances and invitations to global political forums had "concerned" the government.

The case has drawn in other prominent opposition figures.

In February, Gultekin Hajibeyli, a member of the National Council of Democratic Forces coordination center, was detained and questioned as a witness by the State Security Service (DTX) shortly after being deported from Turkey.

Ms Hajibeyli had previously dismissed allegations of a link between the political opposition and Mr Mehdiyev as "absurd," claiming the authorities were using the Mehdiyev investigation as a pretext to dismantle the political opposition.

Human rights advocates have also criticised the treatment of Mr Karimli. On 9 May, his father, Amirhuseyn Karimov, died and was buried in the Saatli district.

Despite precedents where political detainees have been temporarily released to attend family funerals, Mr Karimli was denied permission to attend.

Azerbaijani authorities routinely reject accusations of political persecution, maintaining that fundamental freedoms are protected and that no citizens are prosecuted for their political activities or critical views.