Political prisoners emblematic of repression in Azerbaijan

Repression – and politically motivated detention – are at the heart of all the human rights and environmental issues in Azerbaijan. We are publishing the profiles of emblematic political prisoners, individuals who are solely detained for their political or civil engagement, their human rights related activities or their profession as a lawyer or journalist. Azerbaijan has many more political prisoners: one of the sources to identify the exact number of political prisoners is the Institute for Peace and Democracy.

SUBSCRIBE TO OUR CRISIS DESK UPDATAES TO REMAIN INFORMED ABOUT THESE INDIVIDUALS

Human Rights Defenders and Lawyers

ANAR MAMMADLI

Human rights defender, (former) political prisoner, advocate for free and fair elections, good governance and political rights, and recipient of the Václav Havel Human Rights Prize by the Council of Europe.

AFIADDIN MAMMADOV

Committed social activist and union leader, dedicated to defending workers’ rights and advocating for fair treatment as a fundamental human right.

AHMAD MAMMADLI

Chairperson of the now defunct Democracy 1918 Movement; founder of Yoldash Media, a digital media platform documenting labour rights violations and political repression; imprisoned under bogus charges.

AKIF GURBANOV

Advocate for democratic transition, good governance and decentralisation, Head of the Institute for Democratic Initiatives and facilitator of the III Republic Platform.

ANAR ABDULLA

former associate of the Election Monitoring and Democracy Studies Center (EMDS), arrested under the spurious charges.

ASAF AHMADOV

Civil society representative; former associate of EMDS and Chair of Ganja Regional Community Centre; imprisoned under bogus charges.

AYKHAN ISRAFILOV

Labour rights activist; board member of the Labour Desk Confederation of Trade Unions; imprisoned under bogus charges

AZER GASIMLI

Co-founder and director of the Institute of Political Management, detained on dubious charges.

ELVIN MUSTAFAYEV

Labour rights activist; member of the Labour Desk Confederation of Trade Unions; imprisoned under bogus charges

FAMIL KHALILOV

Civic activist with cerebral palsy, currently imprisoned after being deported from Sweden, known for his criticism of the government.

ILHAMIZ GULIYEV

Civic activist and former investigation associate, currently imprisoned after criticizing government abuse of activists in an anonymous interview.

ILKIN AMRAHOV

Office manager, group coordinator for Young Managers at the Institute of Democratic Initiatives (IDI); detained on spurious charges.

MAMMAD MAMMADZADE

Pro-democracy activist and head of the Election Monitoring Alliance

MOHYEDDIN ORUJOV

Civil and labour rights activist; imprisoned under bogus charges

RAMIL BABAYEV

Project Coordinator at the Institute of Democratic Initiatives (IDI); animal rights advocate; detained on spurious charges.

RUFAT SAFAROV

Human rights defender; founder of Defence Line; imprisoned under bogus charges

ZABIL GAHRAMANOV

Bio for landing page: About Zabil Gahramanov

ZAMIN ZAKIYEV

Social worker; founder and programme manager of the ‘Ubuntu Social Work Association’; imprisoned under bogus charges

RAIL ABBASOV

Human rights defender, detained on dubious charges.

BASHIR SULEYMANLI

Human rights defender, election monitoring expert, and chairman of the Institute for Civil Rights; imprisoned under bogus charges

Journalists and Media Workers

AHMAD MUKHTAR

Freelance journalist and peace activist

ALASGAR MAMMADLI

Founder of Toplum TV and a media law expert, currently imprisoned on disputed charges, while his health condition raises serious concerns.

ALI ZEYNALOV

Civic activist and video producer, currently imprisoned on disputed smuggling charges, known for his work with independent media and youth journalism programs.

AYNUR GANBAROVA

Independent journalist; editor-in-chief of Meydan TV; imprisoned under bogus charges.

AYSEL UMUDOVA

Independent journalist and women’s rights activist; worked for Meydan TV; imprisoned under bogus charges.

AYTAJ AHMADOVA

News journalist working for Meydan TV; imprisoned under bogus charges.

AZIZ ORUJOV

Journalist and founder of Channel 13, repeatedly arrested for his critical reporting on human rights.

ELNARA GASIMOVA

Courageous journalist working for Abzas Media, known for her contribution to investigations into corruption and her resilience in the face of repeated arrests and government pressure.

FARID ISMAYILOV

Independent journalist of Toplum TV; in the past, cooperated with news outlets Pressklub and Kanal 13; imprisoned under bogus charges.

FATIMA MOVLAMLI

Political activist and freelance journalist; worked with various independent media outlets like Jam News, Mikroskop Media, and Meydan TV

HAFIZ BABALI

Investigative journalist and corruption researcher, currently imprisoned on disputed charges, known for his critical reports on corruption.

KHAYALA AGHAYEVA

News journalist working for Meydan TV; imprisoned under bogus charges.

MAHHAMAD KEKALOV

Journalist and disability rights activist; affiliated with Abzas Media; founder of "Kekalove Adaptive Fashion"; imprisoned under bogus charges.

MUSHFIG JABBAROV

Multimedia journalist, video editor at Toplum TV; worked with RFE/RL; detained on spurious charges.

NATIG JAVADLI

Journalist at Meydan TV; imprisoned under bogus charges.

NARGIZ ABSALAMOVA

Journalist with Abzas Media, currently imprisoned on disputed charges, known for her contribution to investigative reports exposing government corruption.

NURLAN GAHRAMANLI

Anti-war activist, blogger, and freelance reporter for Meydan TV; founder of Orange Media; imprisoned under bogus charges.

RAMIN JABRAYILZADE

News journalist working for Meydan TV; imprisoned under bogus charges.

SEVINJ VAGIFGIZI

Journalist, editor-in-chief of Abzas Media, was among several journalists being secretly monitored by the Azerbaijani government through their phones using Pegasus spyware.

SHAHNAZ HUSEYNOVA

Presenter and editor at Toplum TV; also worked for Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty and various Azerbaijani newspapers; imprisoned under bogus charges.

SHAMSHAD AGHAYEV

Editor of news website Argument; cooperated with Meydan TV and hosted a programme on Toplum TV; imprisoned under bogus charges.

ULVI HASANLI

Director of Abzas Media, human rights defender and journalist, contributed alongside blogger Mehman Huseynov to investigations by Sancaq Production, focusing on corruption among government officials.

ULVI TAHIROV

Azerbaijani journalist, educator, and civil society figure; Deputy Director of the Baku School of Journalism; imprisoned under bogus charges.

ULVIYYA ALI GULIYEVA

Prominent journalist; worked for Voice of America; active on Twitter documenting human rights abuse; imprisoned under bogus charges.

Politicians and Civic Activists

ALI KARIMLI

Azerbaijani opposition leader and the chairman of the Azerbaijan Popular Front Party.

BAKHTIYAR HAJIYEV

Prominent civic activist known for his vocal criticism of the government, social campaigns, and numerous arrests related to his activism and political involvement.

EMIN IBRAHIMOV

Former diplomat imprisoned for protesting human rights violations and criticizing the government.

NAZIM BAYDAMIRLI

Former MP and businessman, currently imprisoned on disputed charges stemming from his criticism of corruption and environmental issues.

NIYAMADDIN AHMADOV

PFPA activist, currently serving a 13-year prison sentence on disputed charges, known for his role as the bodyguard of party leader Ali Karimli.

RUSLAN IZZATLI

Political activist and former leader of the D18 Movement, currently imprisoned on disputed charges related to his criticism of the government.

TOFIG YAGUBLU

Pro-democracy opposition politician, repeatedly imprisoned on politically motivated charges since the 1998 presidential election.

Academic and Scholars