Faig Nagiyev

[Faig Nagiyev @NagiyevFaig]

@AliKarimli @SenPeterWelch @SenThomTillis @SenTimKaine @SecRubio The Azerbaijani authorities must be told openly and firmly: political repression cannot be glossed over in the name of strategic partnership or energy interests. Now the ball is in the court of the US and Europe; it is time not for silence, but to demonstrate a principled stance.

[Ali Karimli @AliKarimli]

A major bipartisan US Senate intervention: @SenPeterWelch, @SenThomTillis and @SenTimKaine urge @SecRubio to press Aliyev for the immediate release of Ali Karimli, Alasgar Mammadli, Anar Mammadli, Gubad Ibadoghlu, Farid Mehralizada, Rufat Safarov, Tofig Yagublu and Ulviyya Guliyeva, placing their release directly within the terms of the US–Azerbaijan strategic relationship.

[Ali Karimli @AliKarimli]

Court Returns Eight Complaints Concerning Ali Karimli Over the Past Five Months

The fact that court complaints concerning PFPA Chairman Ali Karimli have repeatedly been returned without consideration once again demonstrates that his arrest was directly ordered by Ilham Aliyev and that he is being held as a political hostage. What has taken place during the nine months since he was falsely incriminated and imprisoned on fabricated charges shows that there is no longer any space in the country for peaceful and civilised political competition.

Having repeatedly failed in its schemes to silence Ali Karimli, the authorities are now taking merciless revenge on him. There is no room in this campaign of vindictive retribution for humanity or basic moral values. Spite and resentment have so blinded those who have turned state power into an instrument of coercion that they are prepared to stoop to the petty cruelty of preventing a political opponent from attending his own father’s funeral.

For months, Ali Karimli has been subjected to torture in violation of international law, while even the highest-level appeals from international organisations have been ignored. Over the past five months, the domestic courts, which have been reduced to instruments of the authorities, have returned eight complaints concerning these unlawful actions without any legitimate basis and without examining them on the merits.

To illustrate the scale of the unlawful actions taken against the opposition leader, we set out below the complaints that have been returned by the courts:

* 13 May 2026 – Application concerning Ali Karimli’s request to attend his father’s funeral – returned by the Sabail District Court.
* 1 July 2026 – Complaint concerning the torture of Ali Karimli – returned by the Sabail District Court.
* 2 July 2026 – Complaint concerning violations of Ali Karimli’s right to defence and right of access to information – returned by the Sabail District Court.
* 3 July 2026 – Complaint concerning violations of Ali Karimli’s right to telephone contact and family visits – returned by the Sabail District Court.
* 3 July 2026 – Second complaint concerning the torture of Ali Karimli – returned by the Sabail District Court.
* 15 September 2026 – Complaint concerning violations of Ali Karimli’s right to family visits and telephone contact – returned by the Sabail District Court.
* 18 September 2026 – Complaint concerning the confiscation of Ali Karimli’s handwritten materials – returned by the Sabail District Court.
* 21 September 2026 – Complaint concerning violations of Ali Karimli’s right of access to information – returned by the Sabail District Court.

PFPA Press Service

[Faig Nagiyev @NagiyevFaig]

@AliKarimli @FRANCE24 100 days is not a period to be spent in silence—it represents a new test every day regarding human rights and justice. In the name of justice and human dignity, Ali Karimli’s rights must be protected, and his detention conditions must meet international standards! Freedom!!!

[Ali Karimli @AliKarimli]

On 10 June, @FRANCE24 published an interview with Ali Karimli while he was being held inside Azerbaijan’s State Security Service detention facility. In it, he described himself as a prisoner of conscience and continued to speak out against the regime. The interview marked the beginning of a sustained campaign of retaliation.

For more than 100 days, Ali Karimli has been cut off from his family: no telephone calls and no visits. He has been subjected to prolonged and systematic sleep deprivation and held in degrading conditions.

These are not routine prison restrictions. They are instruments of isolation, exhaustion and humiliation, intended to punish and break a peaceful political opponent who refuses to be silenced.

The European Court of Human Rights has formally sought answers from Azerbaijan concerning his health, access to water and systematic sleep deprivation. Amnesty International has warned that the denial of clean water and ventilation may amount to torture or other ill-treatment.

As world leaders prepare to gather at the United Nations, democratic governments that continue to engage Azerbaijan as an energy and security partner must not look away. They should raise Ali Karimli’s treatment directly with their Azerbaijani counterparts and demand an immediate end to his abuse and his unconditional release. Strategic cooperation cannot become a shield for political persecution.

Ali Karimli must be released immediately and unconditionally.

Read the France 24 interview that preceded this prolonged retaliation: https://t.co/xYzhbpkE9v

#FreeAliKarimli

[Ali Karimli @AliKarimli]

The Decision to Be Free, a new English-language collection of Ali Karimli’s writings and interviews, has been published in France.

Prepared for an international readership, the book brings together his views on Azerbaijan’s struggle for freedom, repression and corruption, relations with Russia and the West, peace in the South Caucasus, Ukraine, and three decades of political developments in Azerbaijan.

The publication was announced by journalist @QanimatZahid.

[Frank Schwabe #freegubad @FrankSchwabe]

Ali Kariml is one of the more than 300 political prisoners in Azerbaijan. The European Court of Human Rights reacts now on his health conditions. The best would be to release him immediately.

https://t.co/AnOr27S4O5

[Ali Karimli @AliKarimli]

ALARMING: Azerbaijani journalist Ganimat Zahid warns that the Aliyev regime is preparing a provocation against the family of imprisoned opposition leader Ali Karimli.

Zahid says the operation is being personally directed by Ilham Aliyev and would involve individuals planted among businesses and service providers in the neighbourhood where Karimli’s family lives.

This is an extremely serious warning. We urge diplomats in Baku, international human rights organisations and the international media to take note and closely follow the safety of Ali Karimli’s family.

[Faig Nagiyev @NagiyevFaig]

@AliKarimli This is truly an extremely serious and alarming warning that entails a great responsibility. All diplomats, international human rights organizations, and international media outlets operating in Baku must do everything in their power to ensure the safety of Ali Karimli's family.

[Ali Karimli @AliKarimli]

⚠️ APPEAL TO THE INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY REGARDING THE TREATMENT OF ALI KARIMLI IN DETENTION

Nearly 9 months after Ali Karimli was arrested on wholly fabricated charges, the investigation has produced no evidence and conducted no meaningful inquiry. Meanwhile, the Azerbaijani authorities have continued to worsen his conditions of detention.

Ali Karimli is not being provided with adequate drinking water. A person associated with religious extremist forces has been placed in his cell, posing a threat to his safety. From 11pm, an alarm sounds every 15 minutes and a cellmate loudly performs a ritual until morning, effectively depriving him of sleep.

For more than two months, he has also been denied phone calls and visits with his family. His rights to meet confidentially with his lawyers and exchange written notes with them continue to be violated.

These conditions raise grave concerns under Articles 2, 3 and 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights, the UN Convention against Torture and the Nelson Mandela Rules. Deliberate sleep deprivation and the infliction of psychological suffering constitute inhuman and degrading treatment.

The Azerbaijan Popular Front Party calls on the Azerbaijani public not to remain indifferent.

We call on the international community and diplomatic corps to investigate Ali Karimli’s treatment, visit him in detention, assess his health and conditions firsthand, inform their governments of the situation and take the necessary legal steps.

Ali Karimli must be released.

#FreeAliKarimli #FreeThemAll

[Ali Karimli @AliKarimli]

🇫🇷 Le Monde @lemondefr reports on the worsening treatment of political prisoners in Azerbaijan, including PFPA Chairman Ali Karimli.

According to the newspaper, Karimli is being subjected to punitive treatment while held at the State Security Service detention facility.

“They are killing me in here,” he reportedly said during a court appearance seeking transfer to house arrest. His family, citing information relayed by his lawyer, says he has lost significant weight and was denied drinking water for two days.

Le Monde places his treatment within a wider crackdown that has already targeted opposition figures and independent journalists and is now extending to apolitical TikTok influencers.

The newspaper writes that Azerbaijan’s “judicial and penal machinery continues methodically to crush its longstanding targets: journalists and opposition figures.”

Full article: https://t.co/hdY4H3HbN5

[Freedom House @freedomhouse]

Aliyev's latest assault on independent media is another stark reminder of Azerbaijan's ongoing crackdown on dissent. The sham convictions of Toplum TV journalists come amid a broader campaign by the regime to silence independent voices.

We remain deeply concerned for all political prisoners in Azerbaijan, including opposition leader Ali Karimli, and journalists Farid Mehralizada of @RFERL and Ulviyya Ali of @VOANews

Democratic governments must demand their immediate and unconditional release. #FreeThemAll

[Raoul Wallenberg Centre for Human Rights @TheRWCHR]

"They treat me as a hostage rather than a prisoner."

We remain deeply concerned about the continued arbitrary detention of @AliKarimli and urge the #Azerbaijani authorities to ensure full compliance with due process, the presumption of innocence, and other fundamental rights.

More on his case and cause via @Newsweek:

https://t.co/4eFyNzjDD3

[Ali Karimli @AliKarimli]

As Ilham Aliyev was received in Berlin with military honours, Germany’s Frankfurter Rundschau published a sharply critical analysis of Chancellor Merz’s handling of the visit.

The newspaper noted that @_FriedrichMerz announced deeper energy, trade and security cooperation with Azerbaijan, yet said “not a word” publicly about the government’s severe repression of the opposition and independent media. It also found no indication from the press conference that Germany had used its economic leverage to raise human rights concerns.

The article highlighted Ali Karimli’s imprisonment on purported coup charges and recalled his call for Germany and Europe—not to sever relations with Azerbaijan, but to use those relations in defence of civil liberties.

It quoted his daughter, Sezan Karimli, arguing that Europe is effectively irreplaceable as a market for Azerbaijani oil and that the West should raise the cost of political repression for Ilham Aliyev.

Reporters Without Borders separately told the newspaper that Germany and the EU were prioritising energy security over condemning human rights abuses, and that the German government had missed the opportunity to tie economic agreements to respect for fundamental rights.

Europe has leverage. It should use it to press for the release of Ali Karimli and all political prisoners.

Read the full @fr article: https://t.co/Bzo0AIPpIM

[Ali Karimli @AliKarimli]

@Newsweek has published an interview with Ali Karimli on the fabricated case against him, his worsening conditions in detention and his message to the West.

He describes being placed with a convicted terrorist and ISIS member, previously treated in a psychiatric unit, who performs loud rituals from 3am and deprives him of sleep; being denied contact and visits with his family; and having his handwritten legal notes and court motions confiscated.

“They treat me as a hostage rather than a prisoner.”

As the US and Europe deepen energy and trade ties with Baku, his message is clear: human rights must be discussed on equal footing with energy and security—not allowed to trail behind them.

Ali Karimli also commented on how the Aliyev regime keeps playing all sides instead of firmly moving Azerbaijan into the U.S. and Euro-Atlantic alliance and away from Russian influence

“We want Azerbaijan, too, to pursue a clearly Western-oriented policy and to integrate with the West, but the one-man rule currently in place in Azerbaijan is playing between Russia and the West, as it always has.”

Read the full Newsweek article: https://t.co/qXkZab7wBB

[Faig Nagiyev @NagiyevFaig]

@AliKarimli @fr Freedom