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Arbitrary arrest and sentencing of academics Bahruz Samadov and Igbal Abilov in Azerbaijan

Effect
Adopted
Result
477 for · 7 against · 69 abstained roll call
Date
18 December 2025, 12:03–12:04
Kind
Resolution
More facts (9)
Margin
by an overwhelming majority
Text
Motion B-10-2025-0589
Dossier
2025/3028(RSP)
Source
Motion for a resolution
Topics
Foreign affairs Assigned by a model, not checked by hand.
Votes
7 votes · 2 roll calls · 1 amendment
Requested by
Renew (1 roll call) · Patriots (1 roll call)
Sitting
Thursday 18 December 2025
Final vote
182962
More
Cite this page Roll-call results (EP) (opens the official site)
Link to this page
Votes on this decision
Members on the final vote

Result

The final vote and what it means for this kind of decision.

Final vote: 477 for, 7 against, 69 abstained (roll call).

Adopted by an overwhelming majority.

Parliament adopted the text as its official position.

Before the final vote, MEPs decided on 1 amendment (1 rejected). 5 alternative motions lapsed once the text was adopted.

Backed by The Left, Greens, S&D, Renew, EPP, ECR and Patriots; ESN mostly abstained.

Groups

Members' votes, each counted in the group they belonged to on the day. No vote: in office that day, no position recorded. Majority line: the most common position. Clear line: a position with at least two thirds of the group's votes (at least 10 members voting), otherwise Divided. Cohesion: Agreement Index, 0 = evenly split, 1 = all voted the same (method).
GroupForAgainstAbst.No voteMajority lineClear lineCohesionBar
The LeftFor 35Against 0Abst. 0No vote 11 of 46Majority line ForClear line For Cohesion 1.00
GreensFor 42Against 0Abst. 0No vote 11 of 53Majority line ForClear line For Cohesion 1.00
S&DFor 99Against 1Abst. 0No vote 36 of 136Majority line ForClear line For Cohesion 0.98
RenewFor 59Against 0Abst. 0No vote 16 of 75Majority line ForClear line For Cohesion 1.00
EPPFor 144Against 0Abst. 1No vote 43 of 188Majority line ForClear line For Cohesion 0.99
ECRFor 40Against 1Abst. 22No vote 16 of 79Majority line ForClear line Divided Cohesion 0.45
PatriotsFor 43Against 0Abst. 21No vote 21 of 85Majority line ForClear line For Cohesion 0.51
ESNFor 3Against 1Abst. 19No vote 4 of 27Majority line AbstainedClear line Abstained Cohesion 0.74
No groupFor 12Against 4Abst. 6No vote 8 of 30Majority line —Clear line No line Cohesion —

Members who changed group are counted in the group of the day: Branko GRIMS changed group, Elena YONCHEVA changed group, Elisabetta GUALMINI changed group, Ewa ZAJĄCZKOWSKA-HERNIK changed group, Jessika VAN LEEUWEN changed group, Laurent CASTILLO changed group, Lukas SIEPER changed group, Nikola BARTŮŠEK changed group, Nikolas FARANTOURIS changed group, Pina PICIERNO changed group, Roberto VANNACCI changed group, Sander SMIT changed group, Taner KABILOV changed group.

Voted against their group, 27

Members who voted otherwise than a clear line (at least two thirds of the votes cast, at least 10 members voting) of the group they sat in that day. A group without a clear line is divided and not counted.

Countries

The final vote by national delegation.

Votes by country (27 delegations)
Members' votes by country. No vote: in office that day, no position recorded. Cohesion: Agreement Index of the delegation, 0 = evenly split, 1 = all the same; it reflects the mix of groups (method).
CountryForAgainstAbst.No voteCohesion
Austria120620.50
Belgium160061.00
Bulgaria7028—
Cyprus5001—
Czechia170220.84
Germany66014160.74
Denmark120120.88
Estonia6001—
Spain4302150.93
Finland100051.00
France6400171.00
Greece110280.77
Croatia110011.00
Hungary31017—
Ireland100041.00
Italy33125170.34
Lithuania100011.00
Luxembourg6000—
Latvia8010—
Malta3003—
Netherlands191560.64
Poland390590.83
Portugal160051.00
Romania1601160.91
Sweden190021.00
Slovenia9000—
Slovakia64320.19

Members

Each member’s recorded position on the final roll call, in the group they sat in that day. Filter by country, group, position or name.

Show all 553 members

Debate speakers and how they voted

Members who spoke in the plenary debate on the dossier. Speeches: how many times they took the floor. Final vote: their recorded position on this decision's final roll call.
MemberGroupSpeechesSpokeFinal vote
Sophie WILMÈS BelgiumRenewSpeeches118 Dec 2025 (verbatim report, official site) No vote recorded
Ewa KOPACZ PolandEPPSpeeches217 Dec 2025 (verbatim report, official site) For
Davor Ivo STIER CroatiaEPPSpeeches117 Dec 2025 (verbatim report, official site) For
Thierry MARIANI FrancePatriotsSpeeches117 Dec 2025 (verbatim report, official site) · for the group No vote recorded
Marina MESURE FranceThe LeftSpeeches117 Dec 2025 (verbatim report, official site) · for the group For
Dan BARNA RomaniaRenewSpeeches117 Dec 2025 (verbatim report, official site) For
Francisco ASSIS PortugalS&DSpeeches117 Dec 2025 (verbatim report, official site) For

All votes on this decision, 7

In voting order. Result: for–against–abstained (a show of hands has no count). Requested by: the groups that asked for a roll call, a split vote or a separate vote.
No.VoteRecordedResultRequested by
1Amendment 1, adding text after paragraph 3 RC-B10-0567/2025 – After § 3 – Am 1 Roll call121 for, 377 against, 50 abstained RejectedRequested byroll call: Patriots
2Final vote — text as a whole RC-B10-0567/2025 – Motion for a resolution (as a whole) Roll call477 for, 7 against, 69 abstained AdoptedRequested byroll call: Renew
3Alternative motion for a resolution B10-0567/2025 Show of hands Lapsed
Show the other 6 votesShow the other 4 votes
Votes on this decision, continued
No.VoteRecordedResultRequested by
2Final vote — text as a whole RC-B10-0567/2025 – Motion for a resolution (as a whole) Roll call477 for, 7 against, 69 abstained AdoptedRequested byroll call: Renew
3Alternative motion for a resolution B10-0567/2025 Show of hands Lapsed
Votes on this decision, continued
No.VoteRecordedResultRequested by
4Alternative motion for a resolution B10-0576/2025 Show of hands Lapsed
5Alternative motion for a resolution B10-0581/2025 Show of hands Lapsed
6Alternative motion for a resolution B10-0583/2025 Show of hands Lapsed
7Alternative motion for a resolution B10-0589/2025 Show of hands Lapsed

Roll calls requested by Renew, Patriots.

Text

The text voted on.

Motion B-10-2025-0589

AI: What this vote decides Written by AI from the official text — check the source

Parliament adopted a resolution on the arbitrary arrest and sentencing of academics Bahruz Samadov and Igbal Abilov in Azerbaijan.

It condemns the lack of due process and fair trial, and calls for their immediate and unconditional release.

Parliament also calls on Azerbaijan to release all political prisoners and urges the EU to consider sanctions under its Global Human Rights Sanctions Regime.

Read the text · Report a problem

AI: The text in short Written by AI from the official text — check the source

This resolution condemns the arrest and sentencing of academics Bahruz Samadov and Igbal Abilov in Azerbaijan, calls for their immediate release, and urges the Azerbaijani authorities to end reprisals against critics and release all political prisoners.

Read the text · Report a problem

Dossier

Where the dossier stands and its other decisions in plenary.

2025/3028(RSP) · Resolution on a topical subject

Parliament adopted the text on 18 December 2025. This is its final position on the matter.

Show the 3 steps of the dossier
  1. Tabled for plenary (done)
  2. Plenary vote · Adopted 18 December 2025 (done)
  3. Parliament’s position · Final (done)

Connections

What this decision touches: the procedural chain, the same text, running issues, votes that split the chamber the same way.

Show 4 connections: Running issue: EU Magnitsky Act

Running issue: EU Magnitsky Act

Sources & citation

Where the facts on this page come from, and how to cite it.

Permalink
https://news.eu-parl.st-solutions.dev/decisions/2025-12-18/2
Official sources
Data source
Licensed CC BY 4.0.
Retrieved
25 September 2026

Cite as

European Parliament (2025). “Arbitrary arrest and sentencing of academics Bahruz Samadov and Igbal Abilov in Azerbaijan”. Decision, 18 December 2025. votingId 182962, document B-10-2025-0589, reference 2025/3028(RSP). EU Parl Watch Research. https://news.eu-parl.st-solutions.dev/decisions/2025-12-18/2 (retrieved 25 September 2026). Official sources: Roll-call votes, sitting of 18 December 2025 (European Parliament), https://www.europarl.europa.eu/doceo/document/PV-10-2025-12-18-RCV_EN.html; Results of votes, sitting of 18 December 2025 (European Parliament), https://www.europarl.europa.eu/doceo/document/PV-10-2025-12-18-VOT_EN.html. Data: EP Open Data API: decisions of the sitting MTG-PL-2025-12-18, https://data.europarl.europa.eu/api/v2/meetings/MTG-PL-2025-12-18/decisions?format=application%2Fld%2Bjson (CC BY 4.0).
BibTeX 
@misc{epw-decision-2025-12-18-2,
  author = {{European Parliament}},
  title = {{Arbitrary arrest and sentencing of academics Bahruz Samadov and Igbal Abilov in Azerbaijan}},
  year = {2025},
  date = {2025-12-18},
  howpublished = {\url{https://news.eu-parl.st-solutions.dev/decisions/2025-12-18/2}},
  url = {https://news.eu-parl.st-solutions.dev/decisions/2025-12-18/2},
  urldate = {2026-09-25},
  publisher = {EU Parl Watch Research},
  note = {Decision. votingId 182962, document B-10-2025-0589, reference 2025/3028(RSP). Official source: https://www.europarl.europa.eu/doceo/document/PV-10-2025-12-18-RCV\_EN.html, https://www.europarl.europa.eu/doceo/document/PV-10-2025-12-18-VOT\_EN.html. Data: EP Open Data API: decisions of the sitting MTG-PL-2025-12-18 (CC BY 4.0)}
}