Azerbaijan has been accused of intensifying repression of critics in the run-up to hosting the UN climate summit

When representatives from nearly 200 countries, along with hundreds of journalists, descended on Azerbaijan in November for the U.N. climate conference, known this year as COP29, they brought with them a level of scrutiny that the hosts are not used to – and that too not often tolerated.

Azerbaijan has had a poor human rights record for many years and the government regularly targets journalists, activists and independent politicians. Human rights organizations accuse President Ilham Aliyev and his government of being at the forefront of increasing repression of freedom of expression, including against climate activists and journalists, in the run-up to the climate summit.

Aliyev's father Haidar ruled Azerbaijan from 1993 until his death in 2003 and Ilham came to power. Both suppressed dissent because the country of nearly 10 million people on the Caspian Sea had growing wealth from vast oil and natural gas reserves.

Since independence from the Soviet Union in the 1990s, elections are no longer considered completely free or fair. The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe said Azerbaijan's last parliamentary elections in September took place in a “restrictive” environment. They recorded a voter turnout of 37% and no opposition party won a seat.

Human Rights Watch said the “vicious” crackdown on journalists and human rights activists has intensified in the past two years, with false criminal charges against critics and highly restrictive laws that make it difficult for media and activists to operate.

Ahead of COP29, Azerbaijani authorities have extended the pre-trial detention of at least 11 journalists from Azerbaijan's remaining independent news agencies on charges of currency smuggling linked to alleged funding from Western donors.

Azerbaijani government officials did not respond to numerous requests from The Associated Press for an interview or comment on their actions.

A look at just five of Baku's critics currently imprisoned in Azerbaijan:

Ulvi Hasanli and Sevinj Vagifgizi

Hasalni and Vagifgizi are journalists and heads of Abzas Media, an independent online media company. Abzas Media has investigated reports of protests and pollution at a gold mine in western Azerbaijan, reconstruction in the Karabakh region and corruption allegations against senior officials.

Hasanli and Vagifgizi were arrested along with four colleagues in November 2023. Azerbaijani officials claim they conspired to smuggle money into Azerbaijan and claim to have found more than $40,000 in Hasanli's home. The journalists denied the allegations and Hasanli said the money was placed.

“That's why they decided to eliminate Ulvi and his team … to ensure that they can no longer expose their wrongdoings,” Rubaba Guliyeva, Hasanli's wife, told The Associated Press.

Hasanli and Vagifgizi are detained in Baku without a trial date. Describing conditions there as “extremely bad,” Guliyeva said she saw bruises on her husband and was told their meetings and phone calls were being monitored. Hasanli is allowed to visit his 2-year-old daughter briefly, but has difficulty when she leaves, his wife said.

Vagifgizi's mother Ophelya Maharramova said there is a water shortage in the prison and that the water is not drinkable. Prisoners “suffer from hair loss and their teeth are rotting,” she said.

Although Vagifgizi is imprisoned, she still questions what investigations Abzas Media publishes. Her mother said, “That’s what motivates her.”

Guliyeva said states should boycott COP29 because of Azerbaijan's poor human rights record.

Gubad Ibadoghlu

Ibadoghlu is an academic and economist at the London School of Economics who was arrested in Azerbaijan in July 2023. He was placed under house arrest in April after spending months in prison.

He has been accused by Azerbaijan of selling counterfeit money, but his children deny the allegations. They believe he was targeted because he was investigating corruption in Azerbaijan's oil and gas industry and because he is an opposition figure. Ibadoghlu's sons say he also set up a charity in the United Kingdom to work with the British Home Office and attempt to transfer money seized by the National Crime Agency from wealthy Azerbaijanis to the charity to help the people of Azerbaijan.

Ibadoghlu is also the leader of the Azerbaijan Democracy and Prosperity Movement, which was denied registration as a political party in Azerbaijan.

His son Emin Bayramov told the AP that his father was arrested by unknown police officers who beat his mother when she asked who they were. Ibadoghlu has health problems, including diabetes, and his family says he is denied medical care. Another son, Ibad Bayramov, told the AP that the International Committee of the Red Cross tried to visit him four times but was not allowed to see him.

Ibadoghlu also does not have a trial date. His sons have accused the Azerbaijani government of postponing the climate summit until after the climate summit in order to avoid negative headlines.

Azerbaijan hosting COP29 while cracking down on freedom of expression is “a disgrace to the international community,” Emin Bayramov said.

Anar Mammadli

Mammadli is a human rights and climate activist who was arrested and chased away by masked men in Baku in April as he was on his way to pick up his child from kindergarten. He is also accused of smuggling and attempting to illegally bring money into Azerbaijan. He denies the allegations.

He leads an election observation and democracy group that, along with others, co-founded the Climate of Justice Initiative in Azerbaijan. In an open letter, the groups criticized Azerbaijan as “one of the most problematic countries in Europe in terms of political and civil liberties.”

Azerbaijan, the groups said, has not implemented a systematic policy to monitor and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Climate emissions have continued to rise and oil production has polluted the country, it said.

Human Rights Watch said Mammadli was a key defender of human rights in Azerbaijan and highlighted violations of “fundamental freedoms.” He called for the freedom of political prisoners and an improved legal and political environment for human rights activists.

In a previous case, Mammadli was sentenced to 5 1/2 years in prison in 2014 for tax evasion, illegal transactions and abuse of office. Amnesty International said the allegations were fabricated and he was awarded the Václav Havel Human Rights Prize shortly after his conviction. He was pardoned in 2016.

Like the others, Mammadli is in prison and waiting for a trial date.

Akif Gurbanov

Gurbanov is chairman of the Institute for Democratic Initiatives, an independent organization that seeks to develop a more open society through democratic initiatives such as training young journalists, human rights defenders and economists.

He was arrested in March after police raided his home and searched the IDI office. Police later accused him and others of currency smuggling. At the same time, authorities searched the offices of the online news platform Toplum TV and the civil society organization Platform III Republic – both co-founded by Gurbanov.

Toplum TV worked with the other organizations to train young journalists, Human Rights Watch said. Platform III Republic is an organization that promotes discussion of Azerbaijani politics and good governance and proposes development strategies for the country's future.

Gurbanov's wife, Ayan Musayeva, told AP that he was arrested because of his work “defending human rights, providing alternative information and telling the truth.”

She said states participating in COP29 in Baku should demand his immediate release along with “all other political prisoners in Azerbaijan.”

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