09/09/2026 Legal Affairs and Human Rights
The General Rapporteur for political prisoners of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE), Azadeh Rojhan (Sweden, SOC), made the following statement today:
“Yesterday, a court in Baku sentenced Anar Mammadli, a prominent human rights defender, election expert and laureate of the 2014 Václav Havel Human Rights Prize, to 13 years’ imprisonment. He was convicted on charges that appear to be politically motivated, following a trial lacking fundamental fairness guarantees. I am shocked by this arbitrary verdict, delivered alongside a 12-year sentence against journalist and co-defendant Anar Abdullayev.
In a recent resolution, the Assembly considered that Mr Mammadli’s pre-trial detention and prosecution appeared to have been imposed for purely political reasons, which indicated that he fell within the Assembly’s definition of political prisoner. Yesterday’s verdict only reinforces that finding and further deteriorates the already grave human rights situation in Azerbaijan.
Political prisoners have no place in Europe. Mr Mammadli’s conviction is manifestly incompatible with Azerbaijan’s international obligations, including those under the European Convention on Human Rights.
I call on the Azerbaijani authorities to immediately release Mr Mammadli, ensure an independent review of his conviction, and release all other human rights defenders and journalists imprisoned for carrying out their work and exercising their fundamental rights.”