As Azerbaijan prepares to host the next UN Climate Change conference, COP29, the Anar Mammadli Campaign to end repression in Azerbaijan documents how Azerbaijan weaponised its legal system to prosecute, harass, and intimidate human rights defenders, lawyers, journalists, media actors, and civic and political activists. The Campaign’s report published today highlights that amidst an unprecedented level of repression, Azerbaijan consistently disregarded calls to improve its human rights record and failed to meet its obligations as a member of the Council of Europe.

At the time of writing, almost no independent civil society actor remains free in Azerbaijan. Since 16 December 2013 – the day of Anar Mammadli’s first arrest – not a single day has passed without at least one person imprisoned in Azerbaijan on political grounds. Independent media outlets have seen their leadership arrested; the authorities have increased pressure on legal professionals, academics and scholars; and the repression is becoming increasingly focused on young individuals.

On 29 April 2024, human rights lawyer Anar Mammadli was abducted in the streets of Baku. Anar Mammadli is not the only political prisoner in Azerbaijan. Our report outlines how the imprisonment of dissenting voices has become systematic ahead of COP29.

This report is published weeks before the opening of the COP29 in Baku, which is seen by the Azerbaijani government as a major opportunity to enhance its international image. However, this global event is taking place amidst a climate of unprecedented repression on human rights in the country’s history, as exemplified by the recent re-arrest of Anar Mammadli – a prominent democracy and human rights defender, and the name behind our campaign to end repression in Azerbaijan. The authorities have long used international events as cover for increased repression, aiming to project an image of stability whilst suppressing criticism. Anar Mammadli’s arrest is part of a broader pattern of systemic repression, where dissent is met with fabricated charges, arbitrary detentions, and judicial harassment.

Since February 2023, the number of political prisoners has surged by 243%; a consequence of legislation adopted since 2009 that aims at targeting civil society and media and at criminalising their activities. Azerbaijan’s laws and regulations governing civil society organisations, media outlets, political parties, public participation and freedom of assembly are construed in such a way that they are used to wilfully target and sanction these organisations and individuals. Amendments to the legal system have virtually eliminated the possibility for NGOs to operate freely or receive foreign funding, whilst amendments to media laws have eroded the right to freedom of expression. These laws serve not to govern society, but to silence dissenting voices, intimidate civil society and prosecute those who challenge the government.

The time has come for the international com-munity – including and especially the Council of Europe – to rethink how it should address the human rights situation in Azerbaijan. The re-sponse to developments in Azerbaijan will be decisive not only for the future of  human rights and democracy in Azerbaijan but also in the region. The alternative is stark: without immediate and decisive action, more and more journalists, law-yers, media actors and human rights defenders – like Anar Mammadli – will face politically motivated imprisonment.