Situation of human rights defenders, journalists and academics in Azerbaijan

Written question No. 804 to the Committee of Ministers | Doc. 16277 | 01 October 2025

Signatories:

Mr Christophe LACROIX, Belgium, SOC ; Mr Constantinos EFSTATHIOU, Cyprus, SOC ; Ms Edite ESTRELA, Portugal, SOC ; Ms Gabriela HEINRICH, Germany, SOC ; Ms Nina KASIMATI, Greece, UEL ; Ms Bisera KOSTADINOVSKA-STOJCHEVSKA, North Macedonia, SOC ; Ms Luz MARTINEZ SEIJO, Spain, SOC ; Mr Stefan SCHENNACH, Austria, SOC ; Ms Derya TÜRK-NACHBAUR, Germany, SOC

Several independent journalists, human rights defenders and an academic researcher from Azerbaijan who is a member of the DESIRE Centre at the Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB) have been arrested and just been sentenced to lengthy prison terms on the basis of false allegations of corruption and/or treason. These convictions bring the number of journalists and human rights defenders imprisoned in Azerbaijan to 36. The arrests come against a backdrop of heightened repression of peaceful activists, journalists and researchers critical of the Azerbaijani regime.

Their detention is a serious infringement of freedom of expression, press freedom and academic freedom, a fundamental principle which must be protected at international level; it sends an alarming signal about the restrictions imposed on intellectuals and academics in Azerbaijan and breaches the European Convention on Human Rights.

Mr Lacroix

To ask the Committee of Ministers:

What is the Committee of Ministers’ stance regarding this alarming situation and, in particular, does it intend to contact the Azerbaijani authorities with a view to conducting a humanitarian visit to these prisoners and checking their conditions of detention?