Azerbaijan Expands Transnational Repression Through Criminal Proceedings in Absentia

The findings confirm a pattern: domestic repression against journalists, activists, scholars, lawyers and human rights defenders now extends to those who have already left the country. Trials in absentia, together with public summonses, threats of international arrest warrants and misused extradition channels, are being deployed to harass and intimidate exiled critics, disrupt their mobility and expose them to risks when travelling.

A growing system of transnational repression

The overview situates Azerbaijan within a broader rise in transnational repression documented by Freedom House and by European institutions. In 2023, the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe listed Azerbaijan among the states using such tactics and highlighted previous cases of extraordinary rendition targeting journalists.

According to the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, transnational repression includes violence abroad, harassment through extradition requests, digital attacks and pressure on relatives. The overview shows that Azerbaijan employs all these tactics to varying degrees.

A shift towards trials in absentia

Since mid-March 2025, the Office of the Prosecutor General has opened a series of criminal cases targeting civil society leaders, human rights organisations and critical NGOs. Shortly afterwards, criminal proceedings began against exiled bloggers and civic activists, mainly accusing them of “incitement to subversion” or “incitement to riots” based on online statements.

Public summonses were broadcast on state television. Pro-government media then amplified threats of remand orders and international search warrants. Trials in absentia followed, resulting in convictions carrying long prison sentences.

The overview identifies two waves of summonses issued against critics abroad:
• March–April 2025: 13 individuals targeted
• November 2025: 10 individuals targeted
• A further case was added in August 2025

In total, 24 exiled journalists, activists, bloggers, lawyers, scholars and civil society leaders have been subjected to criminal proceedings in absentia so far. Their profiles and the charges brought against them are listed in the overview.

Risks for those in exile

For many exiled critics, these proceedings create real risks in host countries and during international travel. Even when extradition requests are rejected, the existence of politically motivated alerts can trigger questioning, temporary detention or mobility restrictions.

This practice also creates pressure on family members remaining in Azerbaijan, reinforcing the chilling effect on activism, media work and public criticism abroad.

A systematic and deliberate strategy

The analysis concludes that the expanding use of trials in absentia is not isolated or ad hoc. It is a deliberate strategy to extend domestic repression into the transnational sphere, using legal systems, extradition channels and international policing mechanisms in bad faith.

This strategy fits within a broader trend in which Azerbaijan has been consolidating control over civil space at home while targeting those who continue their work from abroad. The findings highlight the need for host states and international institutions to recognise these cases as transnational repression and to implement appropriate safeguards