{"id":77828,"date":"2026-09-02T15:33:57","date_gmt":"2026-09-02T13:33:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/humanrights-online.org\/aserbaidschan-oppositionsfuehrer-ali-karimli-in-haft\/"},"modified":"2026-09-02T16:19:20","modified_gmt":"2026-09-02T14:19:20","slug":"azerbaijan-opposition-leader-ali-karimli-in-custody","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/humanrights-online.org\/hy\/azerbaijan-opposition-leader-ali-karimli-in-custody\/","title":{"rendered":"Azerbaijan: Opposition leader Ali Karimli in custody"},"content":{"rendered":"
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The IGFM has warned of the alarming conditions under which Azerbaijani opposition leader Ali Karimli is being held, including the fact that he is being denied a much-needed medical examination. Photo source: By VOA \u2013 Voice of America, Public Domain.<\/p><\/div>\n

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Azerbaijan: Opposition leader Ali Karimli in custody<\/h1>\n

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\u201cGermany and the EU must act now \u2013 human rights must not be sacrificed for the sake of the energy trade\u201d<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n
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Frankfurt am Main, September 1, 2026 \u2013 The International Society for Human Rights (ISHR) is sounding the alarm over the dramatic detention conditions of Azerbaijani opposition leader Ali Karimli. According to his family, the 61-year-old chairman of the Azerbaijan Popular Front Party (APFP) is being denied a desperately needed medical examination. Furthermore, the conditions in his cell are untenable: garbage is not disposed of, bed linens are not changed, and drinking water is being rationed. The ISHR calls on the German Federal Government and the European Union to immediately exert their political and economic influence on President Ilham Aliyev.<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cAli Karimli needs a doctor now, and he needs humane detention conditions. Furthermore, we demand the complete discontinuation of criminal proceedings and Karimli’s immediate release. Germany and the EU must not wait for political repression to turn into a medical tragedy,\u201d explains Valerio Kr\u00fcger, ISHR Board Spokesperson.<\/p>\n

Politically motivated proceedings against a leading democrat<\/strong>
\nKarimli already served as a state secretary in the early 1990s and is one of Azerbaijan’s best-known democratic and pro-European opposition politicians. On November 29, 2025, he was arrested in Baku following a search of his home. A court ordered pre-trial detention shortly thereafter. The authorities accuse him, among other things, of actions aimed at the \u201cviolent seizure of power\u201d and a \u201cviolent change of the constitutional order.\u201d The ISHR assesses the proceedings as purely politically motivated repression against the country’s democratic opposition.<\/p>\n

Targeted harassment and alarming detention conditions<\/strong>
\nIn addition to a lack of hygiene and targeted water shortages during a heat wave, Karimli was temporarily prohibited from contacting his family. Of particular concern: he is being held together with a mentally ill, suspected IS fighter, which makes getting adequate sleep almost impossible.<\/p>\n

A warning example: Around 400 political prisoners<\/strong>
\nAccording to the ISHR, the case is exemplary of the regime’s systematic crackdown, which currently keeps around 400 people in politically motivated detention. The fate of Gozel Bayramli, Karimli’s former deputy, demonstrates just how dangerous inadequate medical care in Azerbaijani prisons is. She was also supported by the ISHR and died a year after her release from prison as a result of cancer that was treated too late. \u201cThe case of Gozel Bayramli must serve as a warning to us. This tragedy must not be repeated with Ali Karimli,\u201d emphasizes Kr\u00fcger.<\/p>\n

ISHR to the EU: Human rights must not be a secondary matter<\/strong>
\nAs Azerbaijan has become an important partner for the EU in the course of European energy diversification, the ISHR demands that economic relations be strictly linked to the rule of law. \u201cAnyone who wants to expand economic and energy policy relations with Azerbaijan must also clearly state their own terms of business,\u201d says Valerio Kr\u00fcger.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Azerbaijan: Opposition leader Ali Karimli in custody \u201cGermany and the EU must act now \u2013 human rights must not be sacrificed for the sake of the energy trade\u201d Frankfurt am Main, September 1, 2026 \u2013 The International Society for Human Rights (ISHR) is sounding the alarm over the dramatic detention conditions of Azerbaijani opposition leader Ali Karimli. According to his family, the 61-year-old chairman of the Azerbaijan Popular Front Party<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":113,"featured_media":77823,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"slim_seo":{"title":"Azerbaijan: Opposition leader Ali Karimli in custody - Menschenrechte Osteuropa - News & Konflikte","description":"The IGFM has warned of the alarming conditions under which Azerbaijani opposition leader Ali Karimli is being held, including the fact that he is being denied a"},"_slim_seo_primary_term_category":75,"_slim_seo_primary_term_post_tag":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[222,275,668,489],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-77828","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-azerbaijan","category-belaeus-cat-en","category-country-azerbaijan-2-en","category-country-azerbaijan-en"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/humanrights-online.org\/hy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/77828","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/humanrights-online.org\/hy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/humanrights-online.org\/hy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/humanrights-online.org\/hy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/113"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/humanrights-online.org\/hy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=77828"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/humanrights-online.org\/hy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/77828\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":77833,"href":"https:\/\/humanrights-online.org\/hy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/77828\/revisions\/77833"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/humanrights-online.org\/hy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/77823"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/humanrights-online.org\/hy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=77828"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/humanrights-online.org\/hy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=77828"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/humanrights-online.org\/hy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=77828"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}