Azərbaycanlı Müxalifət Lideri Əli Kərimli Onilliklərdir Davam Edən Səyahət Qadağası Səbəbindən Beynəlxalq Forumlarda İştirak Edə Bilmir

Ali Karimli

Ali Karimli, chairman of the Azerbaijan Popular Front Party (APFP), has received invitations to several high-profile international events, including the Athens Democracy Forum, the Warsaw Security Forum, and the Riga Conference. Despite these invitations, Mr Karimli is unable to leave Azerbaijan as he has been denied a foreign passport since 2006.

The travel ban is officially justified by a criminal case initiated against him in 1994, when authorities accused him of carrying a grenade to a rally. Mr Karimli has consistently maintained that the charges were fabricated. "During the investigation, it became clear that the seams of the suit I was wearing were intact – meaning it was impossible to put that grenade in my pocket. This proved the accusation was fabricated, and I was eventually released," he explained to Meydan TV.

Although he was released from custody weeks after his arrest following pressure from local and international organisations, the criminal case was never terminated, only suspended in December 1995. This suspended case has been used as the formal reason for denying him a passport since the previous one expired in 2006.

The opposition leader argues that the travel ban is a political decision made directly by President Ilham Aliyev. He believes it was imposed after he criticised the 2005 parliamentary elections during a session at the Council of Europe. According to Mr Karimli, the continued existence of the case is a legal absurdity, as the five-year statute of limitations for such charges under Azerbaijani law has long expired.

In 2015, the European Court of Human Rights ruled that denying Mr Karimli a passport was a violation of his freedom of movement, but this decision has not been implemented by the Azerbaijani authorities for nine years.

Mr Karimli believes the persistent invitations from international organisations serve as a message to the Azerbaijani government. "If a government restricts its political opponent's internet access, sees their speech at the Martyrs' Alley or participation in an international event as a threat, it means it is not ready for an election race, for democratic competition," he stated.