Latest News & Updates

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

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

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

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

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

Benjamin Netanyahu, Israeli Prime Minister 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

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

Haji Hajili An Azerbaijani court has ordered the three-month detention of former public activist Haji Hajili on smuggling charges following his recent return from Norway, local media report. Mr Hajili is currently being held at the Baku Investigation Prison in Kurdakhani, according to reports. He is the former husband of the prominent Azerbaijani writer Gunel Movlud. He reportedly faces prosecution under Article 206 of the Criminal Code of Azerbaijan, which covers smuggling.

Nijat Ibrahim 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 som

Elvin Mustafayev A jailed Azerbaijani trade union activist has gone on a hunger strike in protest at being placed in solitary confinement, his family say. Elvin Mustafayev, a member of the Workers' Table Confederation of Trade Unions (İşçi Masası), began refusing food on 1 July after being moved to a punishment cell the previous day. Mustafayev is serving a three-year sentence at Prison Number 17, with fewer than 40 days remaining before his scheduled release. His family say

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

Samir Sharifov US firms have signed technology agreements with Azerbaijan worth more than $8bn (£6.3bn) to boost cooperation in artificial intelligence and cloud computing, American officials have announced. The deals, signed last month during Baku Energy Week and the US-Azerbaijan Economic Dialogue, were highlighted by the US Chargé d'Affaires Amy Carlon during a reception in Baku on 1 July. Speaking at the event, which marked the upcoming 250th anniversary of the US Declara

PACE President Petra Bayr 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

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

The head of an Azerbaijani drug rehabilitation centre accused of torturing patients has been released from custody after receiving a suspended prison sentence. Jeyhun Salmanov, director of the Qurtulus (Salvation) Rehabilitation Centre in the town of Corat, near Sumqayit, was freed on 1 July after five months in detention. Judge Farid Nasibov of the Sumqayit District Court handed Salmanov a suspended sentence of three years and three months. Two other employees, Elshad Maharr

Zamin Zaki An appeal court in Azerbaijan has reduced the prison sentence of social worker and activist Zamin Zaki, who was jailed as part of a wider crackdown on civil society groups. The Baku Court of Appeal reduced Zaki’s sentence from seven years and six months to seven years and three months on 1 July. The reduction followed the dismissal of a charge of office forgery because the statute of limitations on the alleged offence had expired. However, the court, presided over

Azerbaijani authorities have blocked access to OC Media, an independent regional news website, in the latest restriction of non-state media in the country. Readers across Azerbaijan reported being unable to access the Tbilisi-based English-language platform without a Virtual Private Network (VPN) since early June. The outlet said its traffic from the country had dropped sharply following the restriction. The Azerbaijani government has not commented on the block or provided an

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

A defence lawyer in the trial of independent Azerbaijani journalists and activists linked to Toplum TV has said it would be "highly naive" to expect a fair verdict from the court. Fuad Agayev, representing prominent opposition figure Akif Gurbanov, made the remarks as defence speeches began at the Baku Grave Crimes Court on 29 June. The prosecution is seeking prison sentences of between 13 and 16 years for those detained in the case. A total of 10 defendants face charges incl