My principled friends, PFPA activists, and my voluntary bodyguards, Kenan Basqal and Novruz Tagiyev, have had their detention extended for another three months. Neither Kenan nor Novruz has committed a crime—or even the most minor legal infraction.

They first took independent politician Azer Gasimli’s money — now they’ve taken his freedom. Today, together with National Council chairman Jamil Hasanli and our colleagues from the Popular Front, we attended the trial of political prisoner Azer Gasimli.

Лидера азербайджанской оппозиции, главу партии «Народный фронт» Али Керимли не выпускают из страны — власти не выдают ему загранпаспорт. По его словам, он получил приглашение на Варшавский форум по безопасности. www.kavkasia.net/azerbaijan/2...

The founder of Abzas Media, political prisoner Ulvi Hasanli, who was falsely accused and sentenced to 9 years in prison, has been nominated for the Vaclav Havel Human Rights Prize of the Council of Europe.

What a tragedy—for the lives and freedoms of our compatriots tortured to death and unlawfully imprisoned in Russia. Yet the Azerbaijani government, as though nothing had happened and without a single demand being met, has restored its alliance with Moscow.

«Если Трамп захочет, он может добиться от Алиева освобождения всех 375 политзаключенных» shorturl.at/TrWjJ

The peace deal between Armenia and Azerbaijan, announced recently at the White House, is perhaps the clearest sign yet that Russian President Vladimir Putin’s heavy-handed interventions in the South Caucasus have backfired, writes ‪@alikarimli.bsky.social‬. bit.ly/3JAvjkj

The Aliyev regime did not expect this blow. It believed that the USA would turn a blind eye to its persecution of Azerbaijani citizens. At such a time, the U.S. Department of State released its report on the state of human rights and freedoms around the world for 2024. www.state.gov/reports/2024...

Наш народ сегодня ожидает, что за миром в Азербайджане последует процесс демократизации. www.obozrevatel.com/novosti-mir/...

Let’s hope that no problems arise in the remaining hours and that the peace agreement between Azerbaijan and Armenia, announced by U.S. President D. Trump, will be signed today in Washington.

I remain in Baku despite arrests, beatings & surveillance because the fight for Azerbaijan’s democracy must be waged from within. This is my life’s mission. I’m ready to pay any price to dismantle dictatorship and restore democracy. fr.de/politik/suedka…

On one hand, Azerbaijan tells Ukraine “Never accept occupation.” On the other, it enables the occupying force—Russia—to bypass international sanctions and sell oil via Azerbaijani-owned tankers, helping fund its war. This is what’s described as a “balanced” foreign policy. 1/4

It is deeply unfortunate that only after 7 months of precious time lost has Ilham Aliyev arrived at the position we advocated from the very beginning. 1/9

The crisis in Azerbaijan's economy is deepening. As the economic policy—defined and implemented solely by Ilham Aliyev, and heavily based on corruption and monopoly—has collapsed, the country's overall economy is sliding into an even deeper crisis. (1/8)

One of Poland's most influential press outlets, the newspaper Rzeczpospolita, has published a large and comprehensive article about the tensions between Azerbaijan and Russia. A portion of that extensive piece consists of an interview with me. www.rp.pl/polityka/art...

A break with Russia is also not in the interests of Ilham Aliyev himself. First, there is the factor of millions of Azerbaijanis living in Russia. Secondly, the current contradictions, there is ideological affinity between Aliyev and Putin. charter97.org/en/news/2025...

According to Ali Karimli, Azerbaijan’s former secretary of state and now an opposition politician, President Ilham Aliyev of Azerbaijan “has built a classic authoritarian regime and maintains a monopoly over both political and economic life.” www.nytimes.com/2025/07/02/w...

The article I wrote for Kyiv Post, Ukraine’s leading English-language newspaper, has generated significant international resonance. My article was also shared by Ukraine’s reputable media outlet Obozrevatel, making it accessible to both Russian- and Ukrainian-speaking readers.

The defense of human rights, political freedoms, and democratic governance in the Caucasus must be seen not merely as moral imperatives but as strategic necessities. www.kyivpost.com/opinion/55414

The ceasefire achieved in the Israel-Iran war is overall good news for our region. I hope that both countries will adhere to the ceasefire achieved today and that the parties will be able to reach an agreement on peace.

As you may know, Germany’s current Chancellor, Friedrich Merz, came to power after defeating former Chancellor Olaf Scholz in national elections. Yet today, the Merz administration recognises that Scholz’s knowledge and experience remain of strategic value.

A verdict was delivered in the fabricated criminal case against the Abzas Media journalist collective. The journalists have already been imprisoned for 19 months.

Russian officials have resumed their threats against Azerbaijan. Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova warned Baku about the “risks” of cooperating with NATO. Just 2 day ago, President Putin’s aide, Vladimir Medinsky, referred to Karabakh as a “disputed territory.”

In a country where over 10000 students are expelled from university each year because they can't afford tuition, a lavish new headquarters has been built for the State Customs Committee, an institution that already occupied a perfectly adequate building. Aliyev himself attended the opening ceremony.

The Azerbaijani government no longer even tries to hide or disguise its repression. Ilham Aliyev is carrying out repression against those close to me openly, in full view of the public, in a completely transparent manner.

The stark difference between Russia and Ukraine once again came to light tonight when Russia bombed peaceful residential buildings in Ukraine.

The fact that 10,746 Azerbaijani students were expelled from universities last year simply because they couldn’t afford tuition should have sent shockwaves through the nation.

"Ещё более разрушительным ударом стала демонстрация неспособности российских вооружённых сил и разведки, а также крушение имиджа "второй армии мира". war.obozrevatel.com/udachnaya-op...

The "Spider Web" operation carried out yesterday by Ukrainian intelligence on Russian territory, which resulted in the destruction of 41 strategic Russian bombers, has ushered in an entirely new situation in the Russia-Ukraine war.

At the Republic Day celebration we held on May 28th in Novxanı, in front of the monument to Mammad Amin Rasulzadeh, alongside the flags of Azerbaijan and the PFPA, we also raised the flag of the EU. This act deeply unsettled the authorities.

I met with the European Union Ambassador to Azerbaijan, Mr. Peter Michalko. During our meeting, we discussed the current socio-political situation in Azerbaijan, the state of Azerbaijan-EU relations, and their future prospects.

Ilham Aliyev, with today’s pardon decree, has not released a single Azerbaijani political prisoner. With this, Ilham Aliyev has sent a message to our people and to the international community: he no longer feels the need for even a cover-up. He is personally the author of the repressive policy.

This is a true act of cowardice from the Aliyev Regime! Aliyev's security apparatus has launched a criminal against my bodyguard and a PFPA activist Novruz Taghiyev. Taghiyev has been detained since yesterday - he will now await the trial while detained at Kurdakhani jail. [1/5]

The regime’s hypocrisy is another form of oppression. At a time when slanders, illegal detentions, and unlawful prison sentences have reached their peak, the government of Azerbaijan has shamelessly declared a “Human Rights Month” in the country from May 18 to June 18. [1/6]

Ilham Aliyev is directly targeting individuals close to me through his security apparatus. Another one of my bodyguards and PFPA activist Novruz Taghiyev, and Rashad Aliyev, a fellow party activist who used his own car to take me to various events, have also been detained.

Ulviya Ali was an employee of Voice of America. After the Azerbaijan office of VOA was shut down, Ulviya Ali was left unemployed. Despite not working anywhere, she continued to shed light on the trials of political prisoners and bring attention to their issues through her Facebook and X accounts.

Aliyev Regime Finally Reveals The Real Reason For Tofig Yagublu's Unjust Imprisonment. The Chairman of the Human Rights Committee of the Milli Majlis (National Assembly), MP Zahid Oruc, has publicly revealed the real reasons behind the imprisonment of Tofiq Yaqublu.

I met with the British Ambassador to Azerbaijan, Fergus Auld. We discussed the situation in Azerbaijan and in our region, as well as the situation of more than 360 political prisoners in our country, with Tofig Yagublu at the forefront, and the silenced free press.

We demand freedom for our young female journalists who have been imprisoned as political prisoners! They are not criminals, but professional journalists. Their only “crime” is exposing corruption and repression, and bringing the people's problems to public attention.

The National Council’s statement on Tofig Yagublu Tofig Yagublu, a senior member of the National Council’s Coordination Center, has been on hunger strike for 40 days. He was driven to this desperate measure by the Azerbaijani government’s unlawful and unjust actions.

Tofiq Yaqublu, who has been on a hunger strike for 39 days, is in critical health. His family and personal doctor warn that his condition could suffer irreversible deterioration.

Tofig Yagublu’s risk of dying in prison grows with each passing day. Today, he told his lawyer that he can no longer even drink water and that he “hears the footsteps of death.” At 65 years old, Tofig Yagublu has become severely weakened after 38 days of hunger strike.

The regime appears to be preparing a provocation against me. There is no other plausible explanation for the repeated arrests of my volunteer bodyguards—individuals who, without pay or obligation, have sought to protect me from potential threats.

Today, a preparatory hearing was held at the Baku Court of Appeals regarding Tofiq Yaqublu's appeal. The court not only did not change the pretrial detention measure for Tofiq Yaqublu, but also set the next hearing for the latest possible date allowed by law.

The Court of Appeal did not release Tofig Yagublu under house arrest and set the next hearing for May 20. This decision effectively means sentencing Tofig Yagublu to death. **** Məhkəməni 20 maya təyin etmək Tofiq Yaqublunu faktiki ölümə məhkum etməkdir.

Is denying a 65-year-old man—on the 34th day of a hunger strike—access to medical care not a deliberate act to hasten his death? What does the Aliyev regime hope to gain by allowing Tofig Yagublu to die in custody?

My recent post on X about the shared struggle of the Georgian and Azerbaijani peoples against the Ivanishvili and Aliyev regimes was picked up by Georgia’s TV Pirveli. ‘Pirveli’ means ‘First Channel’ in Georgian, and the channel is one of the country’s most-watched broadcasters.

Tofig Yagublu, a prominent Azerbaijani opposition leader currently serving a nine-year prison sentence, has now been on hunger strike for 31 days.

Лидер оппозиционной Партии народного фронта Азербайджана (ПНФА) Али Керимли поддержал стремления грузинского народа к свободным выборам и европейской интеграции.

Today, I attended the court hearing of the Toplum TV team. These journalists and civic activists have been imprisoned simply for attempting to establish an independent and professional internet-based media outlet in Azerbaijan. The regime continues to treat independent journalism as a threat.