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The Observatory has been informed of the sentencing and arbitrary detention of Mr Bahruz Samadov,
a prominent peace activist, political scientist, researcher specialised
on authoritarianism, freelance journalist and author. Bahruz Samadov is
widely known for his principled advocacy for peace and his
contributions to OC Media and U.S.-based Eurasianet, both online news platforms covering the North and South Caucasus regions, including Azerbaijan.
On 23 June 2025, the Baku Grave Crimes Court sentenced
Bahruz Samadov to 15 years in prison on charges of treason. He was
found guilty under Article 274 of Azerbaijan’s Criminal Code. The
charges encompass allegations of « espionage, the distribution of state
secrets to a foreign state, and rendering assistance to a foreign state
or a foreign organisation to prepare for a hostile activity against
Azerbaijan ». These charges are based solely on his research and
advocacy for peace in the South Caucasus and critical analysis
of the Azerbaijani government and the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, which
constituted a legitimate exercise of his right to freedom of expression.
The trial was conducted behind closed doors, with only Samadov’s
grandmother -Ms Zibeyda Osmanova, friends, and a limited number of
activists permitted to attend the pronouncement of the verdict. The
denial of public access to the proceedings constitutes a violation of
the right to a fair trial and due process guarantees, as enshrined in
Article 14 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights
(ICCPR) to which Azerbaijan is a state party, and Article 6 of the
European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) of which Azerbaijan has been a
member since 25 January 2001. The right to a public hearing is a fundamental safeguard against judicial abuse.
On 20 June 2025, the prosecution had called for a 16-year prison term
against Bahruz Samadov. Following this, Bahruz Samadov reportedly attempted suicide and was transferred to the hospital wing in the Baku Pretrial Detention Centre. Shortly after, he started a hunger strike. His human rights lawyer Zibeyda Sadigova
reported that, unable to write his last words, during the trial, Bahruz
Samadov verablly stated he was a peace activist and had committed no
crime. Throughout the proceedings, Bahruz Samadov has consistently denied all charges, describing the accusations as fabricated and unsupported by any evidence.
On 21 August 2024, Bahruz Samadov was initially detained,
during a visit to Baku from Prague, where he was a doctoral candidate
at Charles University. After two days of incommunicado detention,
authorities confirmed that he had been detained, with the Baku’s Sabail
District Court that afternoon confirming that he was being charged with treason. During his pre-trial detention hearing, on 23 August, 2024, the Sabail District Court imposed a four-month pre-trial detention measure on the basis that he might attempt to flee.
Shortly before his arrest on 21 August, Bahruz Samadov published
an article titled « Azerbaijan’s cooling relations with Turkey », which
examines how the once “brotherly” alliance between Azerbaijan and
Turkey has been strained by diverging positions on the current conflicts
in the Middle East.
Bahruz Samadov has previously faced reprisals for his peaceful human
rights activity. On 9 September 2020, when Azerbaijani armed forces
attacked Nagorno-Karabakh, Bahruz Samadov was among the few young
pacifist activists to protest against the war in Baku, which led to his detention alongside 12 other young pacifists activist in support of Tofig Yagublu, one of Azerbaijan’s most prominent opposition leaders and a symbol of peaceful resistance against government repression.
The Observatory notes that the arbitrary arrest, unfair trial and
conviction of Bahruz Samadov, are all in connection with his peaceful
human rights work as a researcher and thus amount to violations to
freedom of expression, the right to fair trial and the right to be free
from arbitrary arrest and inhuman treatment.
These violations form part of a broader crackdown
and increasing repression on researchers and journalists in Azerbaijan.
Authorities have escalated their repression of human rights defenders
and journalists, resorting to arbitrary detention, trumped-up charges,
and judicial harassment. Azerbaijani journalists and writers now face a
climate of widespread repression. Charges of treason are being used to
criminalise the expression of dissenting opinions. The intimidation of
activists is intensifying, with arbitrary arrests and sentencing of
those who advocate for peace, particularly in the context of
Azerbaijan-Armenia conflict.
Other recent cases illustrate this trend. Rufat Safarov is arbitrarily detained
since December 2024 supposedly in relation with a disputed related to
the sale of land plot, while prominent human rights defenders and 2014
winner of the Vaclav Havel Award Anar Mammadli is detained
since April 2024, after his organisation published its preliminary
findings on the conduct of the presidential elections and right after
the establishment of the Climate Justice Initiative, an organisation he
created, was announced. In April 2025, Bashir Suleymani and Mammad Alpay, two prominent human rights defenders, were arbitrarily arrested over supposed contract with the German Marshall Fund (GMF). In May 2025, Igbal Abilov, a Talysh researcher and the editor-in-chief of the Talysh National Academy News magazine, was sentenced to 18 years in prison, also on charges of high treason. On 20 June 2025, the Baku Court of Grave Crimes sentenced seven journalists from the investigative independent media outlet Abzas Media - the director Ulvi Hasanli, editor-in-chief Sevinc Vagifgizi, investigative journalist Hafiz Babaly, reporters Nargiz Absalamova and Elnara Gasymova, translator Muhammad Kekalov, and economist and Radio Free Europe correspondent Farid Mehralizade, to between seven and a half and nine years in prison.
The Observatory strongly condemns the conviction and the continued
arbitrary detention of Bahruz Samadov which appear aimed at punishing
him for his legitimate human rights activities and the exercise of his
rights to freedom of expression.
The Observatory calls on the Azerbaijan authorities to immediately
and unconditionally release Bahruz Samadov and all other arbitrarily
detained human rights defenders in the country, and to put an end to all
forms of judicial harassment against them.
The Observatory also expresses its concern regarding Bahruz Samadov’s
hunger strike and any other possible suicide attempts, which pose
serious risks to his physical health and psychological well-being and
life while in detention. It calls on the authorities to ensure that he
has access to adequate medical and psychological care and to guarantee
his fundamental rights are fully respected.
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