ABOUT THE CAMPAIGN

The Campaign to end repression in Azerbaijan is a joint project of human rights defenders and NGOs,
highlighting the systemic nature of arbitrary detention by the Azerbaijani government for over two decades.

Background About the Campaign

As Azerbaijan prepares to host the next UN Climate Change Conference, COP29, a group of distinguished human rights defenders have joined forces under the name of Anar Mammadli, campaigning to raise the profile of emblematic political prisoners amidst a climate of sustained repression in Azerbaijan.

On 29 April 2024, prominent democracy and human rights defender Anar Mammadli was abducted in the streets of Baku. A former political prisoner, Anar Mammadli is once again facing multiple arbitrary charges related to the management of his organisation, the only independent election watchdog in Azerbaijan. Prior to his arrest, Anar Mammadli had co-founded the Climate of Justice Initiative ahead of COP29.

Anar Mammadli is not the only political prisoner in Azerbaijan. According to the group “For Freedom of Political Prisoners in Azerbaijan”, 331 individuals are detained arbitrarily in the country (by 10 December 2024).

Because Anar Mammadli’s case is emblematic of the decade of repression, since his first arrest in December 2013 to his new arrest in April 2024, and emblematic of the government’s will to silence any debate on envrionmental or climate issues, the campaign started as the Anar Mammadli Campaign to end repression in Azerbaijan, ahead of COP29. It has now become the Campaign to End Repression in Azerbaijan.

Poster Freedom for Anar

Campaign Governance

The Campaign to End Repression in Azerbaijan is led by a Steering Committee of Azerbaijani and international human rights defenders and their organisations.

The Campaign’s Steering Committee is responsible for planning and overseeing the Campaign’s activities.

The Campaign is managed by Progress & Change Partnerships, at the behest of several Azerbaijani human rights defenders and lawyers, and their organisations, in collaboration with a number of international NGOs.

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