Human Rights Activist Fikret Jafarli Sentenced to 4 Months in Prison in Defamation Case

In Azerbaijan, human rights activist Fikret Jafarli has been sentenced to 4 months in prison following a complaint filed against him by a lawyer. The activist rejected the charges, stating that he is being persecuted for criticizing the activities of the bar association.

On July 29, the Binagadi District Court of Baku concluded proceedings on a private complaint filed by lawyer Elvin Aliyev against Fikret Jafarli, head of the Center for Investigations Against Torture.

Judge Zamiq Bagirov found Jafarli guilty under Article 147.1 (defamation) of the Criminal Code of Azerbaijan and sentenced him to 4 months of imprisonment. He was taken into custody in the courtroom.

Private prosecutor Aliyev claimed that Jafarli had defamed him on social media.

However, the Center for Investigations Against Torture stated that Jafarli had merely reposted a statement from his brother, Elvin Allahverdiyev, who is currently imprisoned.

The statement alleged that lawyer Elvin Aliyev had taken 10,500 manats (approximately $6,300 USD) from Elvin Allahverdiyev to secure a lenient sentence for him. However, the lawyer allegedly failed to keep his promise and did not return the money to his client.

In court, Jafarli stated that he was not the source of the information and therefore could not be held responsible for it.

Fikret Jafarli indicated that he is actually being persecuted for criticizing the bar association. He asserted that members of the association often fail to adequately perform their professional duties.

Notably, Jafarli was defended by an assigned lawyer who did not support the human rights activist's demand to dismiss the complaint entirely, according to a colleague of the convicted activist.

The Center for Investigations Against Torture participated in exposing torture in the high-profile "Tartar case" concerning the torture of dozens of military personnel and civilians in 2017. The aim was to coerce self-incriminating confessions and false accusations against fellow service members of collaborating with Armenian military and special services.

Under public pressure, authorities rehabilitated those wrongly convicted, including about 10 people posthumously, and sentenced several officers in torture-related cases.

According to the latest list from the human rights union "For the Freedom of Political Prisoners in Azerbaijan," there were 375 political prisoners in the country at the end of May.