Authorities expand criminal prosecution of Azerbaijani bloggers and journalists abroad

Court proceedings continue in Baku on criminal cases opened against several well-known Azerbaijani bloggers and internet channel leaders living abroad. In recent weeks, reports have been consistently published both about trials in absentia at the Baku Serious Crimes Court and calls for foreign-based journalists and activists to appear for questioning by the General Prosecutor’s Office.

New case at Baku Serious Crimes Court: Trial in absentia of 8 people

On November 21, the Baku Serious Crimes Court began a trial in a criminal case against bloggers living abroad: Tural Sadigli, Elshad Mammadov, Gurban Mammadov, and Suleyman Suleymanli. The sessions are being held in absentia under the chairmanship of Judge Huseyn Huseynli.

According to the announced charges, three more individuals are also included as defendants: Ordukhan Teymurkhan (Babirov), Orkhan Aghayev, and Rafael Piriev. They are accused under several serious articles of the Criminal Code, including fraud, calls for terrorism, open agitation against the state, and forgery of official documents.

Since all the defendants are outside the country, the court has imposed preventive measures in the form of arrest in absentia, and the trial is proceeding in absentia.

The wave that began in June: In absentia arrest of 7 bloggers

This case is considered part of a broader process that has continued since the beginning of the year against activists living abroad.

In June, the Binagadi District Court granted the General Prosecutor’s Office’s request and imposed preventive measures in the form of arrest in absentia for several bloggers residing outside Azerbaijan: Imameddin Alimanov, Suleyman Suleymanli, Elshad Mammadov, Mohammed Mirzali, Gabil Mammadov, Orkhan Aghayev, and Gurban Mammadov.

According to the Investigative Department of the General Prosecutor’s Office, they have been charged under several serious articles — fraud, calls for terrorism, calls for mass riots, and agitation against the state.

New decisions on arrests in absentia: Osmangizi, Gafarov, Manafov

In recent weeks, the General Prosecutor’s Office has reported the initiation of criminal cases against journalists and bloggers living abroad — Sevinj Osmangizi, Abid Gafarov, and Beydulla Manafov.

According to official data:

• Journalist Sevinj Osmangizi is charged under Articles 220.2 (calls for disobedience to lawful demands of authorities, mass disorder, and violence against citizens) and 281.2 (public calls against the state, committed repeatedly or by a group). An arrest in absentia has been issued for her. She has been placed on the international wanted list.
• Blogger Abid Gafarov is charged under the same articles; he has also been declared wanted and arrested in absentia by the decision of the Binagadi District Court.
• Journalist Beydulla Manafov is facing a criminal case under Articles 281.2 and 283.1 (incitement of hatred and enmity using the media), and an arrest in absentia is also in effect for him.

Among those summoned for questioning are also historian Altay Goyushov, political scientist Arastun Orujlu, the exiled editor-in-chief of the newspaper Azadliq, Ganimat Zahid, founders of various internet channels, and other socio-political activists; many of them have also been subjected to arrest in absentia or placed on the wanted list.

The case of Manaf Jalilzade and Switzerland’s refusal of extradition

The General Prosecutor’s Office is also pursuing criminal proceedings against blogger Manaf Jalilzade, who lives abroad. He has been charged under Article 281.2 of the Criminal Code (public calls against the state committed repeatedly or by a group) and summoned for questioning. Azerbaijan has submitted a request for his extradition.

The Swiss Federal Ministry of Justice rejected Azerbaijan’s extradition request for Jalilzade. The statement noted that the request was denied because, if the blogger were handed over to Azerbaijani authorities, there would be a risk of torture and a potential violation of his right to a fair trial.

Authorities’ position: “Legal response to anti-state campaigns”

Milli Mejlis deputy Mushfig Jafarov previously accused foreign-based bloggers of conducting an “anti-Azerbaijani smear campaign” in an interview with pravda.az and stated that these individuals would be brought to the country “in accordance with the law.”

In official statements, the General Prosecutor’s Office links trials in absentia and arrest decisions to “acts directed against state security, the constitutional order, and public order,” as well as allegations of calls for violence and unrest through the media.

Critical views and political assessments

Public discussions have produced several perspectives:

• Opposition representatives, human rights defenders, and some political commentators consider arrests in absentia and successive criminal cases as a strategy of political pressure. They argue that these decisions aim both to intimidate critics abroad and create an atmosphere of fear domestically.
• Politicians close to the authorities and official circles present these measures as “responses to calls against the state” and a “legal stance against campaigns discrediting Azerbaijan.”

Economist and chairman of the Political Committee of the ReAl Party, Natig Jafarli, suggested on social media that decisions regarding certain foreign-based “provocative bloggers” might also serve as a strategic tool for the authorities. He presented four general arguments:

1. Such decisions are more likely to keep these individuals in Europe than to result in actual extradition.
2. They provide additional protection for some migrants with weak legal status or incomplete integration into European society.
3. These bloggers, by spreading compromising information that harms the opposition’s image, effectively perform a function beneficial to the authorities.
4. Therefore, in some cases, their activities may align with the interests of certain intra-governmental groups.

Exile blogger Gabil Mammadov rejected most of these claims in an interview with Meydan TV but did not rule out that there may be “a grain of truth” in them. According to him, criminal cases against him and other bloggers are not related to offensive rhetoric but are based on charges such as terrorism, fraud, and resistance to authorities — and are politically motivated.

Political commentator and founding council member of the “III Republic” platform, Elman Fattah, described arrests in absentia as a “typical strategy of authoritarian systems,” noting that the mechanism is used both to instill fear domestically and, even if immediate results are unlikely, to create a façade of legitimacy internationally.

These statements have not been commented on by official institutions; the General Prosecutor’s Office emphasizes that the charges are based solely on criminal procedural and legal grounds.

Legal basis: Expansion of the in-absentia mechanism

Lawyer Fariz Namazli recalls that in December 2023, amendments to the Criminal Procedure Code allowed law enforcement authorities to conduct in-absentia proceedings for individuals living abroad, prepare indictments, submit cases to court, and issue verdicts. This mechanism is later used as an additional legal basis for extradition requests.

Lawyer Ruslan Aliyev notes that European countries’ extradition decisions in politically motivated cases are usually negative, and such in-absentia trials “remain primarily a tool of political pressure.” Investigative actions and other procedural measures can be conducted abroad using alternative methods.

Current situation

The Baku Serious Crimes Court continues the in-absentia trial of Tural Sadigli, Gurban Mammadov, Elshad Mammadov, Suleyman Suleymanli, Ordukhan Teymurkhan, Orkhan Aghayev, and Rafael Piriev; the next session is scheduled in the coming days.

The Binagadi District Court and the General Prosecutor’s Office confirm that arrest-in-absentia and wanted-list decisions for Sevinj Osmangizi, Abid Gafarov, Beydulla Manafov, and other journalists, political scientists, and activists remain in effect.

Switzerland’s decision regarding Manaf Jalilzade and the positions of other European countries are considered precedents for future extradition requests.

Some Azerbaijani bloggers and activists living abroad reject the charges and consider the trials politically motivated, while authorities deny this and assert that the decisions are made “strictly in accordance with legal requirements.”

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