On the arbitrary arrest and sentencing of academics Bahruz Samadov and Igbal Abilov in Azerbaijan

B100567/2025

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

(2025/3028(RSP))

The European Parliament,

– having regard to its previous resolutions on Azerbaijan,

– having regard to Rules 144 of its Rules of Procedure,

whereas doctoral researcher and peace activist Bahruz Samadov and minority rights scholar Igbal Abilov were both arrested in 2024 on fabricated charges of treason; whereas on 23 June 2025 Samadov was sentenced to fifteen years in prison; whereas Abilobv was sentenced on 20 May 2025 to eighteen years in prison; whereas neither Samadov nor Abilov received a fair trial and were denied access to adequate legal defence and medical care; whereas another scholar, Fazil Gasimov, is also behind bars and requires urgent medical care;

whereas the human rights situation in Azerbaijan has hit a historic low point since the government started its latest crackdown on dissent before COP29; whereas these sentencings reflect a broader pattern of complete dismantling of freedom of expression, where the government uses criminal charges, often related to treason, to silence journalists, academics, and activists;

whereas the EU is Azerbaijan's main trading partner, accounting for around 41% of Azerbaijan's total trade; whereas Article 21 TEU stipulates that the Union’s actions shall be guided by democracy, the rule of law, and the universality of human rights;

Urges the Azerbaijani authorities to immediately and unconditionally release Samadov, Abilov and Gasimov; insists that, in the interim, their cases are addressed in a manner consistent with international standards of due process, fair trial, and detention, in accordance with Azerbaijan’s obligations under international law;

Reiterates its profound concern regarding the ever-worsening human rights situation in Azerbaijan, in particular the government’s severe restrictions on freedoms of expression, assembly, and association;

Urges Azerbaijan to swiftly comply with recommendations of the Council of Europe’s Committee for the Prevention of Torture on physical ill-treatment by the police and pre-trial detention centres;

Considers that individuals detained on treason charges related to peace activism should be released following the initialling of the peace agreement with Armenia by the Azerbaijani government;

Calls on the EU to reassess its funding mechanisms for Azerbaijani civil society, and align them with the strategies used to support Belarusian civil society;

Calls on the EU and Member States to prioritise, in line with Article 21 TEU, addressing Azerbaijan’s human rights violations and use their leverage as Azerbaijan’s main trading partner; insists that the EU suspends all energy trade relations with Azerbaijan and freeze Partnership and Cooperation Agreement negotiations, making both conditional on the release of all political prisoners and the reform of laws governing NGOs, media, and political parties; demands that the EU ends its reliance on fossil-fuel rich authoritarian countries;

Calls for targeted sanctions under the EU GHRSR for those individuals responsible for the grave and consistent human rights violations in Azerbaijan, including state officials Fuad Alasgarov, Vilayat Eyvazov, Ali Naghiyev and Kamran Aliyev;

Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council, the Commission, the HR/VP, the governments and parliaments of the Member States, and the President and Parliament of Azerbaijan.