“GEGHARD”
SCIENTIFIC ANALYTICAL
FOUNDATION
2025
2025
2025-02-26
Even individuals who once held high positions within the ruling administration of Azerbaijan and have firsthand knowledge of the system are protesting against human rights violations, violence, and illegal actions in the country. Rufat Safarov, co-founder and executive director of the human rights organization "Defense Line," who previously worked as an investigator in the Prosecutor’s Office, has addressed the public from the Baku pre-trial detention center. In his appeal, the human rights defender stated the real reason for his arrest: his refusal to renounce the “Human Rights Defender” award granted to him by the U.S. State Department.
According to the human rights defender, the authorities exerted pressure on him even before his arrest. “In August 2024, it became known that I was the main candidate for the U.S. State Department's ‘Distinguished Human Rights Defender’ award. After that, the threats against me intensified. Through my father, the Presidential Administration repeatedly urged me to publicly refuse the award. But I could not do that because it is the most valuable global recognition of my work. It was this award that angered the authorities. They decided to arrest me. From here, I declare to the public that I will continue my fight against injustice,” Rufat Safarov wrote in his appeal.
Rufat Safarov is one of the eight recipients of the U.S. State Department’s “Human Rights Defender” award. “Each award recipient is a testament to the bravery and tenacity of human rights defenders throughout the world, who often do this work at great personal risk. Notably, one of this year’s honorees, Rufat Safarov of Azerbaijan, was unjustly detained by Azerbaijani authorities and remains in detention. We call for his immediate release," reads the statement on the State Department’s official website.
The human rights defender was summoned to the Investigative Department of the General Prosecutor’s Office, where he was threatened with the cessation of his activities. “However, I could not remain silent, seeing and understanding the lawlessness and tyranny prevailing in the country, where a diplomat was handcuffed, a social activist was beheaded, and a young investigative journalist was arrested and slandered. That is why I decided to continue my work,” Rufat Safarov wrote.
Rufat Safarov was arrested on December 3, 2024. According to Safarov, he received a message from the Presidential Administration through his father, Eldar Sabiroglu. It is important to note that the arrested human rights defender’s father was a member of the Azerbaijani Milli Majlis, a member of the “New Azerbaijan” party, and served as the press secretary for former President Heydar Aliyev, as well as the head of the press service of the Ministry of Defense of Azerbaijan.
“My son has been detained not for committing a crime, but because of his professional activities... Blinken was going to award him for his work in the field of human rights protection, and that is why they arrested Rufat,” Eldar Sabiroglu said.
In December 2015, Safarov resigned from his position as an investigator in the prosecutor’s office, protesting against human rights violations and the failure to defend the law in the country. Following this action, the prosecutor’s office searched his apartment and opened a criminal case against him. Rufat was arrested and sentenced to nine years in prison.
In March 2019, after being released early under a pardon decree (N 1366), he founded the “Defense Line” organization. According to the human rights defender, since 2019, when he began working as a human rights advocate, he has faced numerous obstacles. The regime’s policies toward Rufat Safarov and others once again demonstrate that Baku is intolerant of anyone attempting to express their dissatisfaction with the prevailing conditions in the country.
Photo by Meydan TV