On the cases of Ali Karimli, Anar Mammadli and other political prisoners in Azerbaijan
B-10-2026-0442
on behalf of the Verts/ALE Group · Rapporteur: Catarina Vieira, Ville Niinistö, Maria Ohisalo, Nicolae Ștefănuță, Erik Marquardt
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Parliament's resolution calls for the release of opposition leader Ali Karimli and election monitor Anar Mammadli, held or sentenced in Azerbaijan, and for an end to politically motivated prosecutions.¶¶¶ It urges Azerbaijan to meet international due-process and fair-trial standards, follow Council of Europe anti-torture recommendations and implement ECHR judgements.¶ It asks the EU to reassess funding for Azerbaijani civil society, suspend energy trade and freeze Partnership and Cooperation Agreement talks until political prisoners are freed and NGO, media and party laws are reformed.¶¶ It calls on Member States to scrutinise Azerbaijani extradition requests and account for transnational repression risks in asylum procedures.¶
Key points
- Ali Karimli has been held in State Security Service detention on unsubstantiated charges since 29 November 2025, under increasingly punitive conditions raising concerns of inhuman or degrading treatment.¶
- Anar Mammadli was sentenced on 7 September 2026 to 13 years imprisonment after proceedings on politically motivated charges marked by serious due-process violations.¶
- The resolution says these cases show an accelerating crackdown, with severe sentences for journalists, academics and activists, arbitrary arrests, impunity for torture and transnational repression.¶
- It urges Azerbaijan to immediately and unconditionally release Ali Karimli and Anar Mammadli and end politically motivated prosecutions and misuse of criminal law against critics.¶
- It urges Azerbaijan to handle the cases consistently with international standards of due process, fair trial and detention.¶
- It calls on Azerbaijan to comply with Council of Europe Committee for the Prevention of Torture recommendations on ill-treatment by police and in pre-trial detention, and to implement ECHR judgements on politically motivated prosecutions.
- It reiterates concern at restrictions on freedoms of expression, assembly and association, and calls on the EU to reassess funding for Azerbaijani civil society along the lines of support for Belarusian civil society.¶
- It calls on the EU and Member States to prioritise Azerbaijan's human rights violations and use their leverage as its main trading partner.¶
- It insists the EU suspend all energy trade relations with Azerbaijan and freeze Partnership and Cooperation Agreement negotiations, conditional on releasing all political prisoners and reforming NGO, media and political party laws.
- It demands the EU end its dependence on fossil-fuel rich authoritarian countries.
- It calls on Member States to rigorously scrutinise Azerbaijani extradition requests concerning government critics and to factor transnational repression risks into asylum and protection procedures.¶
Who is affected
- Azerbaijani authorities: urged to release detainees, end politically motivated prosecutions and meet due-process and anti-torture standards.¶¶
- Opposition figures, journalists, election monitors, human rights defenders and civil society in Azerbaijan: the resolution seeks an end to prosecutions and restrictions against them.¶
- EU and Member States: asked to reassess civil society funding, suspend energy trade, freeze agreement talks and scrutinise extraditions.¶¶
- Azerbaijani civil society: EU funding mechanisms for it should be reassessed and aligned with support for Belarusian civil society.