9. Political prisoners and patterns of legal harassment
Rather than addressing longstanding human rights concerns during its two decades of Council of Europe membership, the Azerbaijani government has intensified its domestic crackdown. Authorities continue to target human rights defenders, independent journalists, and political opponents with spurious criminal charges and convictions.
According to the Institute of Peace and Democracy, a rights group operating from exile and run by human rights defenders Leyla and Arif Yunus (themselves former political prisoners), there were 375 political prisoners in Azerbaijan as of June 2025 – the highest number in the past two decades. An increasing number of those targeted come from journalism (such as Ulvi Hasanli and Ulviyya Ali), civic activism (such as Bakhtiyar Hajiyev, Akif Gurbanov and Azer Gasimli), election observation (like Anar Mammadli), and academia (including Bahruz Samadov, Igbal Abilov, and others) – particularly individuals affiliated with independent media or critical scholarship. Their detention reflects a coordinated effort to suppress independent analysis and reporting.
The judicial system plays a central role in legitimising repression. Courts are not independent and routinely endorse prosecutorial requests, even in the absence of credible evidence.
Intimidation extends beyond the courtroom. Families of dissidents are frequently targeted through job dismissals, public smear campaigns, and threats. Surveillance, both physical and digital, is pervasive, creating a chilling effect on any form of dissent.
Restrictions for Lawyers
Independent lawyers in Azerbaijan – particularly those who defend human rights – operate under a deeply hostile environment, constrained by an oppressive professional framework controlled by the Bar Association. The Bar systematically uses a politically biased admission process and has suspended or disbarred at least a dozen human rights defenders, effectively excluding all but a few from legal practice.
Lawyer Shahla Humbatova was disbarred after speaking out on prison conditions and defending political prisoners, while the Bar Association has repeatedly undermined confidentiality obligations and access to vulnerable clients. Another independent human rights lawyer, Alasgar Mammadli, one of the founders of Toplum TV, who is suffering from a serious medical condition, has found himself behind bars on charges of smuggling foreign currency.
Overall, these mixed tactics of intimidation, persecution and arrests have resulted in the near-elimination of human rights legal representation within domestic courts and impeded international collaboration, with only a handful of courageous lawyers able to navigate the system in defence of civic space and fundamental freedoms.