Ali Karimli: European Court of Human Rights Requests Information on Detained Pro-Democracy Leader
The European Court of Human Rights, in response to an application for the indication of interim measures, has requested that the Government of Azerbaijan provide it with information about the health and detention conditions of pro-democracy leader Mr Ali Karimli.
The request is in response to an application made earlier this week by a team of lawyers acting on Mr Karimli’s behalf. Doughty Street Chambers’ Cian Murphy is acting for Mr Karimli in the international proceedings, alongside Emin Abbasov, an Azerbaijani human rights lawyer.
Mr Karimli is a 61 year old pro-democracy leader in Azerbaijan and the Chairman of the Azerbaijan Popular Front Party (“APFP”), a well-known and popular party within Azerbaijan with tens of thousands of members. He has previously served as Secretary of State in the country. Mr Karimli is currently being held in pre-trial detention in a State Security Service Pre-Trial Detention Facility following his arrest on 29 November 2025 on allegations of attempts to violently seize state power.
His conditions of detention have dramatically deteriorated over the past three months, following an interview with France 24 published on 10 June 2026, in which he described himself as a “prisoner of conscience” and remarked upon the close relationship between Azerbaijan President Ilham Aliyev and Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Reports on Mr Karimli’s detention conditions include that he does not have access to drinking water, has been subject to extreme heat, denied access to clean clothing and adequate food, been kept in a cell with rubbish, overrun with pests, subject to sleep deprivation measures, and denied any meaningful activity or exercise. Access to Mr Karimli by his family, and his lawyers, has also been severely restricted.
Several international NGOs, including Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch, have raised concerns about Mr Karimli’s detention.
The European Court of Human Rights has previously found Azerbaijan to have violated Mr Karimli’s Convention rights, including a finding last year that there was a violation of his right to assembly, in relation to his political activities. He now has a further case pending before the Court.
In the current proceedings, the Court has requested that the Government of Azerbaijan provide it with the following information by 10 September 2026:
What are the applicant’s current conditions of detention? Does he have access to drinking water and food? Is his family allowed to send food parcels? Is he being held in conditions that cause systematic deprivation of sleep (such as regular nighttime noise)?
What is the applicant’s current health condition?
The Government are also requested to provide documents concerning conditions of the applicant’s detention and his current state of health.
Mr Karimli’s legal team will then have an opportunity to comment on the information before the European Court resumes its consideration of the application for interim measures. More information about the interim measures process before the European Court of Human Rights is here.
In a news report published on 30 August, a spokesperson for the Foreign Office told The Independent:
“We have raised Ali Karimli’s case with senior members of the Azerbaijani government, including pressing them to follow due legal process and ensure necessary access to medical care in accordance with their international obligations and commitments.
We continue to monitor this case closely, alongside the wider human rights situation in Azerbaijan, and raise concerns about the protection of freedoms directly with the Azerbaijani government.”
Mr Karimli’s case, alongside those of other detainees in Azerbaijan, raises key issues in relation to the criminalization of political activity, impacting freedom of expression and freedom of assembly, as well as access to justice for political prisoners, and detention conditions in a Council of Europe state.
