Rufat Safarov

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

About Rufat Safarov

Rufat Safarov is a prominent Azerbaijani human rights defender and co-founder of the non-governmental organisation Defence Line. Before his arrest, he served as the executive director of the organisation. The NGO was established in 2020 to monitor politically motivated arrests, corruption, and human rights abuses.

Safarov’s human rights activism began in December 2015, when he resigned from his position as an investigator at the Zardab District Prosecutor’s Office. His resignation followed his public statement criticising governmental abuse of power and corruption within the prosecution service. The move led to immediate state-led retaliation. In January 2016, he was arrested, and the Lankaran Grave Crimes Court sentenced him to nine years in prison under the charges of repeated bribery (Criminal Code Article 311.3.2), which local and international organisations widely recognised as a politically motivated detention.

In March 2019, Safarov, who consistently rejected the charges and served three years behind bars, was pardoned and released. In January 2024, the court rejected his motion to expunge his criminal record, citing a lack of “resocialisation” as he was preparing to qualify for the bar exams.

Case description

Rufat Safarov was arrested on 3 December 2024, shortly after visiting the U.S. Embassy to receive his U.S. visa. Before his arrest, Safarov was set to receive the U.S. Secretary of State’s 2024 Human Rights Defender Award, which he later accepted in absentia on 10 December 2024, while he was under pre-trial detention. According to Safarov’s father, Eldar Sabiroglu, his whereabouts were unclear for several hours and the family could not contact Safarov after plainclothes agents arrested him close to his house at approximately 17:00 in the evening.^1,^2,³

On 4 December 2024, he was formally charged under three Criminal Code Articles for fraud involving major damage, hooliganism, and intentional infliction of less serious harm to health. The investigation alleges that he took 60,000 manats from a man named Natig Imamguliyev in a fraudulent land deal and later assaulted him. Safarov denied the claims, stating the entire case is a “fabricated provocation” linked to his human rights work. If convicted, he faces a potential sentence of up to 10 years in prison.⁴

Following his arrest, the Binagadi District Court judge Aytekin Ibrahimova remanded Safarov to four months’ pre-trial detention. After the hearing, he was transferred to the Baku Investigation Isolator. On 11 December 2024, the Baku Appeal Court upheld the decision on remand. In the following months, his pre-trial detention was prolonged several times.⁵

In January 2025, Safarov’s mother, Tahira Tahirqizi, was placed under a travel ban and called in for questioning in connection with the investigation against her son. Due to Safarov’s imprisonment, Defence Line’s operational capacity has also been severely reduced.⁶

In June 2025, a preparatory hearing at the Baku Court of Serious Crimes rejected the motion for his transfer to house arrest. His trial has since been continuing into the autumn of 2025.

References

Resources about Rufat Safarov

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