Azerbaijani Opposition Leader Ali Karimli To Face Trial On Slander Charge

By RFE/RL’s Azerbaijani Service

BAKU — The Nasimi district court in Baku has set September 19 as the trial date for the chairman of the opposition Popular Front Party of Azerbaijan (AXCP), Ali Karimli, who is being prosecuted on a charge of slander.

Last month, Karimli was informed that a probe had been launched against him on the basis of a lawsuit filed by Aydin Aliyev, who was expelled from the AXCP in 2019, but had his membership restored by a court decision.

If found guilty, Karimli may face up to six months in prison.

Shortly after the court pronounced its decision on September 12, Karimli accused the court of implementing a “political order” by accepting the lawsuit.

Azerbaijani rights groups and opposition activists say the police have tried to force several opposition politicians, journalists, and activists to testify against Karimli since 2013.

“The authorities were then reasonable enough not to launch a probe against me, but now the regime seems to feel complete impunity, ignoring calls by the United States, the European Union, the Council of Europe, etc. to stop repression. By launching a probe against an opposition party’s leader, the authorities want to completely liquidate the opposition, civil society, and free media,” Karimli told his supporters in Baku.

Karimli has been under pressure from authorities for decades.

In 1994 he had to fight a charge of illegally possessing explosives. Since 2006 he has been unable to travel internationally as the authorities have refused to issue him a passport.

Critics of Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev’s government say authorities in the oil-rich Caspian Sea state frequently seek to silence dissent by jailing opposition activists, journalists, and civil society advocates on trumped-up charges.

Azerbaijani officials have insisted that there are no political prisoners in the tightly controlled country.

President Aliyev has ruled the oil-rich South Caucasus state with an iron fist since 2003 after taking over from his father, Heydar, who was president for a decade.