Reacting to reports of the deteriorating health of opposition leader Ali Karimli and media expert Alasgar Mammadli, both detained in Azerbaijan, and the threat of extradition from Ukraine to Azerbaijan of political activist Bahruz Hasanli, Marie Struthers, Amnesty International’s Eastern Europe and Central Asia Director, said:
“According to family members and lawyers, Ali Karimli and Alasgar Mammadli have suffered a severe deterioration in their health due to inadequate prison conditions and a lack of essential health care. Ali Karimli has been denied access to clean drinking water and ventilation, which may amount to torture or other ill-treatment. Alasgar Mammadli’s lawyers have repeatedly requested that he be transferred to house arrest given his health problems which have seriously worsened in detention.”
“Ali Karimli and Alasgar Mammadli are among hundreds of individuals who have fallen victim to Azerbaijan’s intensifying campaign of political repression, targeting journalists, activists, outspoken government critics and opposition politicians. Another victim of these reprisals is Bahruz Hasanli, a political activist who used to serve as Ali Karimli’s security guard. He is currently at risk of extradition from Ukraine to Azerbaijan where he could face torture and other ill-treatment.
“The Azerbaijani authorities must ensure that Ali Karimli, Alasgar Mammadli and all other prisoners have immediate access to adequate drinking water, ventilation and all necessary medical care. Ukraine must fulfill its human rights obligations and not extradite Bahruz Hasanli to Azerbaijan.”
Background
According to Ali Karimli’s family, he fainted from severe dehydration on August 6, 2026 during a court hearing to consider his appeal for transfer to house arrest. Drinking water to his cell had reportedly been cut off since August 5 as well as electricity, with no power to operate the fans. Ali Karimli, chair of the opposition Azerbaijan Popular Front Party (APFP), was detained on November 29, 2025 over alleged “violent seizure of power” and “violent change of the constitutional order.”
Alasgar Mammadli, media lawyer and co-founder of Toplum TV, was on July 27 sentenced on trumped up charges to 14 years’ imprisonment along with other media workers and civil society activists associated with Toplum TV, some of whom received up to 15-year sentences.
Bahruz Hasanli, who has lived in Ukraine with his family for five years, was detained at his workplace in Kharkiv on July 27 following a request from Azerbaijan’s Prosecutor General’s Office. The request was made in the context of the Ali Karimli case, with charges brought under articles of the Criminal Code related to fraud. Bahruz Hasanli denies these charges, claiming them to be unfounded, fabricated and related solely to his political activity. The Shevchenkivsky District Court of Kharkiv released him on July 30, but after an appeal he was placed in detention on August 6 pending extradition proceedings.
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