The "Committee for the Defense of Political Prisoners" was created by convicted activists in an Azerbaijani prison colony.

Six journalists, experts, and activists serving prison sentences at Correctional Facility No. 2 in Baku announced the creation of a "Committee for the Defense of Political Prisoners."

As reported by the "Caucasian Knot," in 2024, the number of political prisoners in Azerbaijan exceeded 300 for the first time since the early 2000s. On October 7, the Union for Freedom of Political Prisoners in Azerbaijan published a new national list of political prisoners, including 392 names.

Six inmates of Colony No. 2 in Baku announced the creation of a "Committee for the Protection of Political Prisoners" (CPPP) on November 24. The decision to establish such a group was made given that violations of human rights and freedoms in Azerbaijan "have reached a critical level and have become systematic," according to a statement released by the initiative.

The authors of the statement note that "courts, designed to administer justice, have completely lost their status as independent authorities and have become hotbeds of lawlessness and injustice where political orders are carried out."

The "Committee for the Defense of Political Prisoners" plans to protect and defend the rights and interests of political prisoners within the country and abroad by all legal means, ensure "an adequate fight against ordered slanderous campaigns" against political prisoners in local media, inform the public about the progress of court proceedings, and communicate with local and international organizations to secure the release of political prisoners. The organization intends to publish reports on its activities, create an official account on social media through its representatives, and interact with the Penitentiary Service and the Ombudsman's Office on issues of the conditions of detention of political prisoners.

The statement was signed by investigative journalist Hafiz Babali, economist Fazil Gasimov, trade union activist Afiyaddin Mamedov, former political emigrant Samir Ashurov, and activist Lachin Valiyev and member of the Popular Front Party of Azerbaijan Mehman Aliyev. All of them are serving their sentences in Penal Colony No. 2. Babali also issued a statement alleging violations of his rights by the prison administration, specifically the refusal to submit his complaints to court, according to the journalist's relatives. "Hafiz Babali continues to face defamatory publications in pro-government media. To defend his honor and dignity, he prepared lawsuits against the heads of two such media outlets, gafqazinfo.az and Baku.TV. On November 6, he submitted the lawsuits to the courts for mailing and requested postal receipts. However, he never received the receipts, and the lawsuits were never filed. In this regard, Hafiz Babali filed a complaint with the Minister of Justice and the Ombudsman regarding the actions, or rather inaction, of the penitentiary service. Hafiz Babali notes that the Penitentiary Service is obstructing justice," a relative of the prisoner told the "Caucasian Knot." He recalled that Babali had already filed defamation lawsuits against three media outlets, but the courts were not objective.

This is the first time in Azerbaijan that prisoners have formed an association to defend their rights, noted a local human rights activist who wished to remain anonymous.

“Perhaps this has more symbolic than practical significance—of course, opportunities for public activity are limited in closed institutions. However, this shows that prison doesn't break activists and journalists; they continue their struggle in prison. On the other hand, this is an example for political prisoners in other prisons. Such a struggle also helps them endure the hardships of prison life. Furthermore, the unity of prisoners protects them from the arbitrary actions of the prison administration,” he told a Caucasian Knot correspondent.

Caucasian Knot was unable to obtain comment from the Azerbaijani Penitentiary Service.