“GEGHARD”
SCIENTIFIC ANALYTICAL
FOUNDATION
2025
2025
In Azerbaijan, individuals with opposition views are regularly subjected to violence by the authorities. It is worth noting that women with opposition views are also persecuted by the government.
For example, Khadija Ismayilova is one of the journalists in Azerbaijan with opposition views. Her high-profile case involved uncovering both the business connections and offshore bank accounts of the presidential family, as well as the laundering of large sums of money from the state oil fund by ministers.
The journalist faced pressure and threats at various times. Back in 2012, Ismayilova received a letter and personal photographs, demanding that she stop her investigation on government officials’ corruption. Reports by the journalist were criticized by Baku officials and pro-government media, with newspapers labeling her as “pro-American” and an “international agent”.
In 2014, Khadija Ismayilova was charged with inciting a colleague to commit suicide; however, the prosecution later withdrew the complaint, and the journalist was acquitted. During her detention, Ismayilova was also accused of embezzlement and tax evasion, after which she was sentenced to 7 years and 6 months in prison. In May 2016, after serving 1 year and 5 months of her sentence, Ismayilova was acquitted once again. Later, her name was again linked to allegations of illegal entrepreneurship and tax evasion, which the journalist described as politically motivated charges.
Ziyafat Abbasova, an opposition figure, is a member of the “Democracy and Welfare” party as well as the “Resistance” movement. Back in 2023, her friends reported that Abbasova had gone missing since the beginning of June. In response, the press service of Azerbaijan’s Ministry of Internal Affairs stated that Abbasova had been transferred to a psychiatric hospital due to complaints from several citizens in a dormitory and her health issues.
Regarding the incident, Gulnara Rahimova, a member of the Azerbaijan Popular Front Party, stated in an interview that Ziyafat Abbasova had previously informed her that the regime had threatened her with confinement in a psychiatric hospital.
Abbasova was subjected to physical violence when she attempted to hold a protest in front of Heydar Aliyev’s statue. Following this, the police forcibly removed her from the area.
Several Azerbaijani opposition figures, including Ali Karimli, Manaf Jalilzade, and others, posted photos of Ziyafat Abbasova on their social media pages, clearly showing that she had been subjected to physical violence.
Political activist Gozel Bayramli, who served as the head of the organizational department of the Azerbaijan Popular Front Party and later as the party’s vice-chair, was a political prisoner and a socio-political activist. In 2018, Bayramli was accused of smuggling and sentenced to 3 years in prison. The political activist rejected the court’s decision, linking her arrest to her political activities.
In March 2019, Bayramli was released under an amnesty. After leaving prison, the political activist stated her intention to intensify her political activity in another direction: “There are many women in prison, and I will work for their freedom.”
Saadat Jahangir, who was Bayramli’s colleague, remembers her as one of Azerbaijan’s most active female leaders, someone who left her mark over the past 30 years in the struggle for democracy in the country.
Under the guise of apparent democracy, not only men with opposition views are persecuted in Azerbaijan but also women. The Aliyev regime uses fabricated charges to deprive anyone of their freedom who dares to speak about the real situation in the country.