ACADEMICS ARRESTED ON FABRICATED CHARGES

Academics Igbal Abilov and Bahruz Samadov were arrested on fabricated charges including “high treason” in retaliation for their academic writings and activism. Both remain in custody and are not allowed visitors or communication with their families. If found guilty, they face lengthy prison terms of up to 20 years.

PLEASE TAKE ACTION AS SOON AS POSSIBLE UNTIL: November 12, 2024

take action:

• Write a letter in your own words or using the sample below as a guide to one or both government officials listed. You can also email, fax, call or Tweet them.
• Click here to let us know the actions you took on Urgent Action 86.24. It’s important to report because we share the total number with the officials we are trying to persuade and the people we are trying to help.

contact information:

sample letter:

Dear President Aliyev,

I am writing to demand the release of academics, Bahruz Samadov and Igbal Abilov, who have been detained on spurious charges. 

On July 22, 2024, Igbal Abilov, an ethnic Talysh scholar and minority rights researcher and advocate, who has lived in Belarus since he was a child, was arrested while visiting Azerbaijan. He was charged with treason, sedition, and incitement of ethnic hatred. On August 21, 2024, Bahruz Samadov, another political scientist, was arrested on charges of treason while staying in Azerbaijan during a break from his doctoral studies. Both have been remanded in pre-trail detention. Neither is allowed contact with their families.

Their families believe that they have been arrested because of their critical academic research and activism. Bahruz Samedov has spoken publicly against the use of military force in Nagorno-Karabakh in 2020, and Igbal Abilov has been a vocal advocate for the rights of the national minorities, including the Talysh of Azerbaijan. Their arrests follow a pattern of abuse of the criminal justice system by the government of Azerbaijan to silence its critics.

I urge you to take immediate action to end all politically motivated prosecutions, release Bahruz Samadov, Igbal Abilov, and all persons arbitrarily detained or imprisoned for their dissenting or critical views in Azerbaijan including academics, political and civic activists, journalists, and human rights defenders.

Yours sincerely,

[YOUR NAME]

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES:

• READ THE FULL URGENT ACTION: Wordopens in a new tab or PDFopens in a new tab
• GET INSPIRED: Read about the people you have helped
• READ TIPS for writing effective letters and emails
• CONTACT US: [email protected]