EU and rights defenders criticize verdict to Azerbaijani activist Yagublu

Tofig Yagublu was convicted of criticizing corruption and human rights violations in Azerbaijan and should be released, like other arrested opposition figures and journalists, representatives of the European Union (EU) and the Amnesty International (AI) have stated.

The prosecutor asked for 10 years in jail for Yagublu, while his defence insisted on an acquittal. Yagublu himself has stated that his case materials had been falsified. On March 10, the court sentenced him to 9 years of freedom deprivation.

Tofig Yagublu, a member of the Coordination Centre of the Azeri NCDF (National Council of Democratic Forces) and the “Musavat” Party, was arrested in December 2023 on suspicion of fraud and document forgery. He denied the charges and stated that his persecution was politically motivated. There are no proofs of Yagublu's guilt in the case, the defence has insisted.

Anitta Hipper, the spokesperson for the EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, has criticized Yagublu's verdict. "People should be able to freely express their political views. All those detained for exercising their fundamental rights should be released," she said in a statement posted in the social network X.

The AI human rights organization has also strongly condemned Yagublu's sentence.

"Tofig Yagublu's sentence is another grim milestone in Azerbaijan's ongoing campaign to suppress those who dare to criticize the government," Marie Struthers, the AI’s Director for Eastern Europe and Central Asia, has stated.

Yagublu has long been a "target" for Azeri authorities due to his criticism of the government corruption and human rights violations, the AI has reminded.

Nigyar Khazi, Tofig's daughter, has announced her father's intention to begin an indefinite hunger strike on April 1 demanding an end to the "unlawful criminal prosecution."

"When I die, then the hunger strike will end. Like the Magnitsky Act, let there be the Yagublu Act. Maybe my death will bring freedom to this country ... Rather than leaving prison at 75 (Yagublu will be 75 by the end of his appointed prison term, – note of the "Caucasian Knot"), I choose death," Nigyar has quoted her father's statement.