Ali Kerimli was denied a transfer to house arrest.
The court in Baku refused to release the leader of the opposition party Ali Kerimli from custody. The session took place under heightened security measures, and the politician's associates were not allowed into the court.
As reported by "Caucasian Knot", the associates of the leader of the opposition party of the Azerbaijan Popular Front Ali Kerimli and human rights defenders stated that the conditions of his detention in the pre-trial detention center have significantly worsened in recent months. They claimed that Kerimli's contacts with his family are restricted, and he is not provided with medical examinations. On September 29, the international human rights organization "Raoul Wallenberg Center for Human Rights" submitted a complaint to the UN, indicating that Ali Kerimli is restricted in access to drinking water, quality food, contacts with the outside world, and is held in unfavorable sanitary conditions.
On September 4, the European Court of Human Rights requested information from the Azerbaijani authorities about Ali Kerimli's health and conditions of detention. The request is related to the defense's complaint about the deterioration of the politician's detention conditions and possible risks to his health. On September 30, it became known that the Azerbaijani government responded to the ECHR's request, claiming that there are no problems with Kerimli. At the same time, the PFPA reported that the pre-trial investigation into Kerimli's case has been completed.
Today, a petition for transferring Ali Kerimli to house arrest was considered in the Sabail District Court of Baku, reported the deputy chair of the PFPA Saadat Jahangir to the correspondent of the "Caucasian Knot".
We learned about the process only an hour before the session began.
"The time for considering the petition was kept secret by the investigative authorities and the court until the last moment. Only at 10 a.m., that is, an hour before the session began, did we learn about the process. Therefore, a few party activists tried to gather near the courthouse. But even despite this [small number of those gathered], the area around the court was cordoned off by the police," she said.
Jahangir noted that she was still able to approach the courthouse. "However, two police officers who came out of the court demanded that I leave the area. When I remarked that I was waiting for a lawyer, they replied: 'You can come after the court.' As a result, we had to wait for the end of the process from a distance. When the police and plainclothes individuals observing us began to disperse, we realized that the session had ended. By contacting Ali Kerimli's lawyer, we learned that the petition was denied," Saadat Jahangir said.
According to her, the petition was submitted in connection with the completion of the preliminary investigation into Kerimli's case. "They justified Kerimli's detention by claiming that he might 'flee from the investigation.' But now the investigation is complete, and the trial will begin soon," Jahangir said.
The true reason for Ali Kerimli's arrest is to remove him from political struggle.
According to her, Kerimli rejects the charges. "The true reason for Ali Kerimli's arrest is to remove him from political struggle. Even under limited opportunities for political activity, the authorities fear honest competition," the deputy leader of the party noted.
She called the refusals to satisfy 12 complaints, petitions, and appeals from the PFPA leader submitted since July as evidence of the bias of the courts against Kerimli.
"In July, complaints about torture, violations of the right to defense, information, phone calls, and visits were rejected. Another seven complaints were rejected or not accepted for consideration in September. They were also related to the prohibition of visits with family members, phone calls, walks, confiscation of manuscripts, refusal to transfer from the SGB detention center to the Penitentiary Service detention center, and the refusal of the Prosecutor General's Office to investigate the torture complaint," Jahangir said.
A staff member of the Sabail court confirmed to the correspondent of the "Caucasian Knot" the information about the rejection of Kerimli's petition. Representatives of the investigative authority were unavailable for comments.
Recall that in November 2025, employees of the State Security Service of Azerbaijan detained Ali Kerimli and his advisor Mamed Ibrahim. Both opposition members were arrested and charged under Article 278.1 of the Criminal Code of Azerbaijan (actions aimed at the violent seizure of power or violent change of the constitutional order of the state). They rejected the charges, and Kerimli called his criminal case political persecution.
In 2025, the Azerbaijani authorities intensified repression against the Azerbaijan Popular Front Party, culminating in the arrests of Ali Kerimli and his associates, the PFPA stated earlier.
The PFPA has become a target for the Azerbaijani authorities due to its consistent struggle against the strengthening of authoritarianism and corruption in the country. Moreover, there is no other party in Azerbaijan that has also been "permanently subjected to pressure, persecution, and repression" over the past 20 years, said the chairman of the National Council of Democratic Forces, Jamil Hasanli, to the "Caucasian Knot".
The number of political prisoners in Azerbaijan reached a peak in 2024, marking 23 years of the country's membership in the Council of Europe, according to the "Caucasian Knot" report "Main points about the record number of political prisoners in Azerbaijan". At the same time, the Azerbaijani authorities deny the existence of political prisoners in the country.