Azerbaijan intensifies transnational repression against exiled critics
Azerbaijan’s transnational repression has intensified in 2025, with authorities expanding criminal cases, abductions, Red Notices, and in-absentia prosecutions against critics living abroad.
Free Voices Collective continues to document a sharp escalation in Azerbaijan’s campaign to target journalists, bloggers, activists, and political critics abroad through criminal charges, in-absentia arrest warrants and sentences, red notices, and even violent attacks in Europe.
Azerbaijan has recently initiated criminal proceedings against at least three prominent exiled critics — historian Altay Goyushov, politician Arastun Orujlu, and journalist Ganimat Zahid — accusing them of “open calls for violence against the state”. According to information, the charges appear to form part of a broader, escalating campaign against independent voices living abroad.
These cases coincide with summonses issued to other exiled journalists — including Beydulla Manafov, Vagif Allahverdiev, and Sevinj Mirzayeva (Osmangizi) — and renewed extradition requests, such as the one targeting blogger Manaf Jalilzada. Switzerland, where Jalilzada lives, rejected this request due to the documented risk of torture and lack of access to a fair trial in Azerbaijan.
In a separate incident raising further concern, Talysh activist Kamal Isayev was reportedly detained in Istanbul and transferred to Azerbaijan by the State Security Service while travelling to Turkey for medical treatment. His family lost contact with Isayev, a citizen of Russia, on 7 November before learning he was being held in a detention facility in Baku. Isayev has been outspoken in defending the rights of the Talysh minority and criticising the government on social media.
Across 2024 and 2025, at least 30 exiled Azerbaijanis have faced investigations, summonses, arrest warrants, or extradition attempts. This forms a clear pattern of transnational repression aimed at silencing dissent outside the country’s borders.
October 2024 – Murder of exiled critic in France
Former prosecutor and government critic Vidadi Isgandarli died after a violent attack in his home in Mulhouse. With no valuables taken, the circumstances raised serious concerns about a possible politically motivated killing. French authorities opened a full investigation.
2024–2025 – Continued use of politically motivated Interpol Red Notices
Azerbaijan has repeatedly sought Red Notices for political refugees, including Elvin Isaev, Tural Sadigli, Ordukhan Babirov, Gurban and Orkhan Mammadov, Rafael Piriyev, Ali Hasanaliyev, and Suleyman Suleymanli. Extradition requests have frequently been rejected due to documented risks of torture, ill-treatment, and unfair trials.
March 2025 – Public summonses of exiled dissidents
The Prosecutor General’s Office publicly summoned six exiled dissidents, including Gabil Mammadov, Tural Sadigli, Mahammad Mirzali, Gurban Mammadov, Ilgar Hajiyev, and Elshad Mammadov — through notices published in state media. This move was a shift toward systematic in-absentia prosecutions.
April 2025 – New charges against diaspora activists
Dutch-based activist Ordukhan Teymurkhan and several businessmen and bloggers abroad were charged with “public calls for violent seizure of power” and “inciting mass riots” over their social media posts. Multiple individuals were added to ongoing criminal investigations.
May–June 2025 – Expansion of arrest warrants for exiled bloggers
Courts in Azerbaijan issued new arrest warrants for exiled figures such as Tural Sadigli, Ordukhan Temirkhan, and Elshad Abdullayev, accusing them of “inciting mass unrest” and “overthrowing the constitutional order.” This followed a March–April wave of investigations targeting bloggers across Europe.
June 2025 – Sentencing linked to previous attack in France
A French court sentenced Khayyam Hagverdiyev to ten years for the 2021 attempted killing of blogger Mahammad Mirzali. One day earlier, a court in Baku issued an additional arrest warrant in absentia against Mirzali for “incitement” and “resisting police.”
July 2025 – Misuse of Interpol mechanisms
Sweden-based Azerbaijani national Azer Kazimov was detained in Croatia after an Interpol Red Notice requested by Azerbaijan. The case highlights continued misuse of international policing tools to pursue individuals who fled earlier threats and reprisals. Kazimov was not extradited and returned to his country of residence.
September 2025 – In-absentia sentencing of exiled blogger
France-based blogger Mahammad Mirzali, a survivor of multiple prior attacks, was sentenced to six and a half years in absentia on charges widely regarded as politically motivated, including “inciting people to overthrow the state”.