FAMİL XƏLİLOV

About Famil Khalilov

14 iyul 1990-cı ildə Azərbaycanın Şirvan şəhərində anadan olmuş Famil Xəlilova anadangəlmə zədədən sonra serebral iflic diaqnozu qoyulub və 1993-cü ildən ömürlük əlil kimi təsnif edilir. Onun hər iki qolu iflicdir və tarazlığını qorumaq üçün adətən əllərini arxasına bağlı saxlayır.

In 2011, Khalilov married and later moved to Sweden in 2015, where he had two more children. Despite his efforts to gain residency, his application was ultimately rejected. On 25 July 2023, he was deported back to Azerbaijan.

Famil Xəlilov, xüsusən də sosial media hesablarında video və paylaşımlar vasitəsilə Azərbaycan hakimiyyətini açıq şəkildə tənqid edir.

Khalilov was detained on 2 May 2024 and arrested two days later under Article 234.4.3 of Azerbaijan’s Criminal Code, which envisages a potential sentence of five to twelve years in prison for the acquisition, transportation, and storage of large amounts of drugs for sale.

Case description

Initially, Famil Khalilov was detained on 2 May 2024. On 4 May, the authorities arrested him under charges of drug possession with intent to sell. He was arrested after police allegedly found drugs in his home. His wife claims police officers planted the evidence. If found guilty, he can face up to 12 years’ prison sentence.

The authorities claim that police received information that Khalilov was involved in drug trafficking, and during a search of his home in the Binagadi district, drugs were allegedly found in a tissue inside a drawer.

Onun həyat yoldaşı Kiçikxanım Xəlilova da bildirib ki, onların Bakının Sulutəpə qəsəbəsində kirayə qaldıqları evdə narkotik maddə olmayıb. O, onların polis tərəfindən əkildiyinə inanır: “Bizim evdə heç vaxt belə rəngdə salfetlər olmayıb. Polis gətirdi, qoydu, sonra götürdü. Daha sonra polis bölməsində məndən soruşdular ki, niyə ərimə internetdə belə şeylər yazmağa icazə verdim. Cavab verdim ki, Famil heç vaxt yalan danışmayıb”.

Famil Khalilov has consistently denied the charges, alleging they were fabricated by authorities in retaliation for his critical social media posts against the government. Khalilov, who has cerebral palsy and paralysed arms, faced significant health complications in the Baku Detention Centre. He required constant assistance for basic tasks.

On 28 November 2024, after a previous hunger strike was unsuccessful, Khalilov began a dry hunger strike to protest his detention. Following his hunger strike, on 3 December 2024, a court transferred him to house arrest. Because of his hunger strikes to protest imprisonment, his health deteriorated.

On 6 February 2025, Khalilov was found guilty, but the court amended the charge to simple drug possession. He received a 3-year conditional sentence with a 2-year probation period. Khalilov and his legal team stated their intent to appeal the verdict, arguing that the charges were baseless.

Famil Khalilov is not the only activist to be arrested on drug charges after being deported from a country where they sought political asylum. Before his arrest, five other political and social activists – Jafar Mirzayev, Punhan Karimli, Malik Rzayev, Mutallim Orujov and Samir Ashurov – were similarly detained shortly after being deported from Germany. All five are currently serving prison sentences and claim their arrests were retaliatory actions for protesting against human rights violations and for critical posts on social media.