UN Submission: Systematic Torture and Erosion of Rights in Azerbaijan

The Institute for Human Rights has formally submitted a written statement to the 61st Session of the United Nations Human Rights Council, sounding a global alarm over the rapid deterioration of fundamental freedoms and the systemic use of torture in Azerbaijan.

The report, titled "Torture and the Erosion of Human Rights in Azerbaijan," documents a period between 2024 and 2025 marked by an "unprecedented" crackdown on civic space, independent media, and political opposition.

Our analysis reveals that torture in Azerbaijan is not a series of isolated incidents but a foundational tool of state control. The submission details harrowing accounts of detainees being held incommunicado by the Ministry of Internal Affairs to coerce confessions through electric shocks, severe beatings, and threats of sexual violence against both the detainees and their families.

Notably, the report highlights the case of academic Fazil Gasimov, who testified that police used electroshocks and other degrading treatment to secure testimony against economist Gubad Ibadoghlu.

The Azerbaijani government’s suppression has extended deeply into the realms of journalism and academia. By the end of 2025, at least 24 journalists remained behind bars. This includes the high-profile targeting of Abzas Media, Meydan TV and Toplum TV, where journalists have faced fabricated charges of smuggling and fraud simply for performing their professional duties.

The scope of state surveillance has also widened to include scholars and researchers. Doctoral students Bahruz Samadov and Igbal Abilov were charged with treason in 2024, a move that signals a dangerous expansion of the State Security Service’s remit to target intellectual scholarship and peace activism.

The human cost of this erosion is measured in lives lost. The submission brings to light the suspicious deaths of detainees Subhan Aghayev and youth activist Elbeyi Karimli while in custody. Despite visible injuries on Aghayev and a hunger strike by Karimli to protest "unjust imprisonment," authorities have consistently obstructed independent investigations into these fatalities.

"Although Azerbaijani law nominally prohibits torture, the reality in the interrogation rooms and courtrooms is starkly different," the report states. The submission points to a "persistent gap" between legal guarantees and the judicial practice of admitting coerced confessions. Furthermore, the Council of Europe has noted Azerbaijan’s refusal to cooperate with anti-torture monitors as an "unprecedented breach" of its treaty obligations.

The Institute for Human Rights calls upon the Human Rights Council and the international community to hold Azerbaijan accountable to its obligations under the Convention against Torture and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. The cycle of fabricated charges, fatal custodial violence, and the silencing of the free press must end.

Read the full submission to the HRC here.