Azerbaijan sentences prominent rights defender Rufat Safarov to eight years

Rufat Safarov

A court in Baku has sentenced prominent Azerbaijani human rights defender Rufat Safarov to eight years in prison following a trial his supporters say was politically motivated.

The Baku Court of Grave Crimes found Safarov, the co-founder of the human rights organisation Defence Line, guilty of fraud and intentional infliction of bodily harm on 12 June 2026. A charge of hooliganism was dropped.

His defence lawyers, Elchin Sadigov and Rovshana Rahimli, denied the allegations and said they would appeal against the verdict.

In a final address to the court on 1 June 2026, Safarov, a former prosecutor, rejected the charges as a "political act of violence under the guise of law."

Safarov told the court that he believed his arrest in December 2024 was triggered by his nomination for a prestigious international award by the US State Department.

I want to convince Azerbaijani society that if, in August 2024, the US ambassador to Azerbaijan had not recognised the human rights work of Defence Line and nominated me for an international award... the Azerbaijani government would not have initiated my arrest," Safarov said.

He had been invited to Washington for the award ceremony in December 2024, but was detained by police on 3 December, days before his planned travel. He has remained in custody for 18 months.

Safarov comes from a prominent political family. His father, Eldar Sabiroglu, was a co-founder of the ruling New Azerbaijan Party (YAP) and served as a member of parliament and a senior defence ministry official.

Safarov told the court that despite his family's deep ties to the leadership, including state-funded brain surgery for his father in Istanbul, he chose to align with democratic values and independent civil society.

I have placed public interests above personal motives," he said, adding that he could not remain silent while other citizens faced injustice.

Safarov previously served three years in prison on bribery charges before being pardoned by President Ilham Aliyev in 2019. He and his supporters have always maintained those charges were fabricated in response to his resignation as a prosecutor in 2015 to protest state corruption.

His sentencing comes amid what international watchdogs describe as an intensifying crackdown on independent journalism, political opposition, and civic space in Azerbaijan. Human Rights Watch reported that several prominent journalists and civil society figures have been detained or convicted in recent months.

Western diplomats and international human rights organisations have repeatedly called for Safarov's release.

The government in Baku has rejected the criticism, saying that western calls to release detainees represent interference in Azerbaijan's sovereign judicial system.