On August 21, Azerbaijani political scientist and activist Bahruz Samadov was arrested in Baku. The latter is known for his critical articles and pacifist principles against the President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev and his regime.
The 29-year-old political analyst is a doctoral student at the Karlov University in the Czech Republic and lived in Prague. Samadov visited his relatives living in Azerbaijan at the beginning of August, but soon he was going to leave the country.
What activities was Samadov engaged in and what charges were brought against him?
Bahruz Samadov is charged with high treason (Article 274 of the Criminal Code of Azerbaijan-ed.), and on that basis, on August 23, the Sabayil District Court of Baku sentenced him to pre-trial detention for 4 months.
Article 274 of the Criminal Code of the mentioned country defines state treason as an action by a citizen of Azerbaijan to the detriment of the sovereignty, territorial integrity, state security of the Republic of Azerbaijan, as well as espionage, transfer of state secrets to a foreign state.
If the charges are confirmed, Samadov will face ten to fifteen years or life imprisonment with or without confiscation of property.
Samadov’s grandmother, Zibeida Osmanova, told Turan agency that on August 21, half an hour after Samadov’s arrest, their house was searched during which 2 computers, 2 phones, Samadov’s passport, diplomas from foreign universities and a book in which his article was published were confiscated.
Freedom House international human rights organization commented on the arrest of Samadov on X microblog.
We are concerned by the arrest of freelance journalist Bahruz Samadov in Azerbaijan—the latest in the Aliyev regime’s escalating attacks against independent media. As we look to #COP29 this fall, we urge participating governments to strongly reiterate the need for the Aliyev regime to cease its assault on press freedom and immediately release all unjustly detained media workers.
Charles University was also concerned about the news of the arrest of its student.
“The academic community of Charles University in Prague is concerned at the arrest of Bahruz Samadov, a doctoral student at its Faculty of Social Sciences, in Azerbaijan. The management of the Faculty of Social Sciences of Charles University together with the management of Charles University are working intensively to gather information from verified sources. Charles University has also approached the Czech Foreign Ministry with a request for cooperation,”reads the statement by the University.
According to Samadov’s lawyer, Zibeida Sadigova, the investigating agency links the arrest of Bahruz Samadov to the fact of his studying abroad and possible attempt of escape.
“We argued that he has no intention of hiding. Bahruz himself stated that he is innocent and has never betrayed his country. He emphasized that he is a peaceful person, a Christian, and that his religion promotes peace. He only wanted peace,” said Sadigova.
Bahruz Samadov is also a contributor to Open Caucasus (OC) Media, a news organization focused on peace in the South Caucasus
On August 23, the day of his arrest, the newspaper published Samadov’s last column, titled “Azerbaijan’s Cooling Relations with Turkey,” which he wrote shortly before his arrest. The article states that “Despite long being ‘brotherly’ nations, the Israel-Gaza war appears to have exacerbated existing tensions between Turkey and Azerbaijan.”
Samadov sometimes appeared in the Armenian media. In January of this year, he gave an interview to the Civilnet news agency, talking about the upcoming presidential elections in Azerbaijan, the prevailing sentiments in the society and anti-Armenian propaganda. In the interview, he mentioned that the post-war euphoria is waning in Azerbaijan and people are expressing more and more questions and complaints. According to the political scientist’s assessment, “the idea of seizing new Armenian lands promoted by the authorities is not supported by the public, but there is also no discourse on peace.”
Baku’s ongoing persecution and restrictions against journalists
Not long after Bahruz Samadov’s arrest, on August 23, journalist Samad Shikhi was arrested. He is one of Samadov’s friends and was also a correspondent for the OC Media periodical. At the time of his arrest, he was trying to leave for Tbilisi from Baku airport.
Shikhi also stood for democracy, protection of human rights and was a supporter of establishing peace with Armenia.
On August 24, a post appeared on his Facebook account, in which Samad Shikhi allegedly admits to testifying as a witness against Bahruz Samadov.
“I informed that Bahruz Samadov arranged for me to meet some Armenians abroad, and he covered all the financial expenses. The questions mainly concerned certain Armenians. To be honest, I did not face any pressure, the court will make a final decision depending on the testimony.
I would like to thank my friends who are worried about me.”
In the comments, Shikhi’s friends and acquaintances claim that the author of the post is not Samad, as the Azerbaijani text contains such mistakes that he would never have made. It is assumed that the notes from the journalist’s user account are made by the security forces in order to confirm the accusations against Samadov.
A month ago, on July 22, Iqbal Abilov, an Azerbaijani citizen who arrived in Azerbaijan from Belarus, a scientist of Talish nationality, who was engaged in researching the rights of ethnic minorities in Azerbaijan, was arrested in Azerbaijan. He is also accused of treason and is under 4-month pre-trial detention.
Thus, ahead of the 29th session of the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP29), violations of human rights and free media in Azerbaijan are only increasing, and activists supporting peace are being imprisoned.
Arpine Hovhannisyan