Aykhan Israfilov
Labour rights activist; board member of the Labour Desk Confederation of Trade Unions; imprisoned under bogus charges
About Aykhan Israfilov
Aykhan Israfilov, 35, is an Azerbaijani workers’ rights activist. He was born on 21 February 1990 in Baku and went to school there.
His family has endured significant tragedy, including the death of one of his brothers in a fire (which left his mother with severe burns) and another from blood cancer. At a young age, he also lost his father. When he was 22, Israfilov was electrocuted, resulting in one of his legs being practically paralysed. Following the incident, he got a third-degree disability and required special shoes. As the sole breadwinner for his mother, who is a first-degree disabled person, he received an allowance. According to his sister, Israfilov’s 2023 arrest severely impacted his mother’s health and caused severe emotional suffering.1
Before the arrest, Israfilov served as a voluntary board member of the “Worker’s Table” (İşçi Masası) Confederation of Trade Unions (also known as the “Workers’ Table” and previously affiliated with the “Democracy 1918” movement). This was a new, independent umbrella organisation, primarily composed of food couriers who protested working conditions and legal changes affecting their delivery vehicles. In September 2023, the “Democracy 1918” movement, of which the trade union was a part, ceased its activities, citing a lack of political freedom in Azerbaijan, though activists stated the affiliated trade unions would continue their work.
Israfilov, who worked as a food delivery courier for Wolt Azerbaijan, was involved in the defence of workers’ rights and, among other activities, participated in the couriers’ protests.
Case description
On 1 August 2023, the couriers peacefully protested legal changes concerning their scooters and the requirement for category A driver’s licences. Shortly after, on 11 August 2023, Israfilov was detained by employees of the Narimanov District Police Department in Baku for large-scale drug trafficking. The authorities brought charges under Criminal Code Article 234.4.3 that envisages criminal liability for the illegal manufacture, acquisition, storage, transportation, or sale of narcotic drugs or psychotropic substances.
Following his arrest, on 12 August 2023, the Narimanov District Court remanded Israfilov to four months of pre-trial detention. Israfilov vehemently denied the accusation and associated the arrest with his public activities. In the following several months, his pre-trial detention was prolonged several times.2
In September 2023, Israfilov’s sister reported that her brother, who was placed in the pre-trial detention centre №3, was held with 21 other detainees in a cell designed for ten people, complaining about ‘terrible’ prison conditions to the administration of the detention centre and the Ministry of Justice. Despite the complaint about the wretched prison conditions, the court denied the motion to place him under house arrest or transfer him to the pre-trial detention centre with an accessible cell for disabled detainees.3
On 31 January 2024, during the court hearing, Israfilov testified that police officers physically abused him, demanding a confession, and advised him to confess to possessing a small dose of drugs to receive a lighter, three-year prison sentence. Israfilov claimed his assigned counsel witnessed the physical assault but did nothing to prevent the staged video of drug ‘discovery.’4
On 2 April 2024, the Baku Serious Crimes Court convicted Israfilov under Criminal Code Article 234.1-1 (possession and distribution of drugs) and sentenced him to three years in prison. Israfilov was eventually sentenced to three years in prison on drug charges.5
In May 2025, the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) dropped the application filed by activist Aykhan Israfilov after the Azerbaijani government admitted to a violation of his rights. Specifically, the government recognised a violation regarding the illegality of the preventive measure (arrest) chosen against Israfilov during the investigation. Following this admission of guilt, the ECtHR approved a settlement that included fining Azerbaijan a total of 3,150 euros. This amount was allocated specifically for Israfilov as 2,700 euros in compensation for moral damages and 450 euros to cover his legal fees.6
References
- https://www.kavkaz-uzel.eu/articles/395451
- https://www.irfs.org/news-feed/another-trade-union-activist-detained/
- https://jam-news.net/activist-arrested-in-azerbaijan-complains-about-detention-conditions/
- https://www.irfs.org/news-feed/trade-union-activist-ayhan-israfilov-said-in-court-about-physical-pressure/#:~:text=%5Bvc_row%5D%5Bvc_column%5D%5Bvc_column_text,had%20to%20confess%20to%20drugs.
- https://www.irfs.org/az/news-feed/trade-union-activist-sentenced-to-3-years-in-prison/
- https://oc-media.org/azerbaijani-government-recognises-wrongdoing-in-case-against-labour-activist/
Resources about Aykhan Israfilov
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