Human rights activists have deemed the amnesty act insufficient to resolve the issue of political prisoners in Azerbaijan.

The number of political prisoners pardoned in Azerbaijan has exceeded 50. However, according to human rights activists, the amnesty only affected religious prisoners with less than six months remaining on their sentences.

As reported by the Caucasian Knot, on December 15, 2025, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev submitted an amnesty act to parliament, which will affect approximately 20,000 people. Local activists welcomed the amnesty but noted that it will not resolve the issue of political prisoners. Azerbaijani activists and journalists living abroad criticized the amnesty act adopted by the Azerbaijani parliament. They called the current amnesty manipulation. The amnesty will begin immediately and be completed within four months.

As of January 5, 52 political prisoners were granted amnesty and released, Arif Yunusov, head of the Institute for Peace and Democracy's Department of Conflicts and Migration, told a Caucasian Knot correspondent. However, this only affected a small number of political prisoners, whose list is being updated by the Union for Freedom for Political Prisoners in Azerbaijan, founded by the Institute for Peace and Democracy and the Political Prisoners Monitoring Center.

According to Yunusov, the amnesty only affected political prisoners classified as "believers," and only those with less than six months remaining in their prison sentences. He emphasized that the amnesty had not resolved the problem of political prisoners, as it did not address journalists, political emigrants, human rights defenders, activists, political emigrants deported from Germany, or representatives of national minorities convicted in connection with the unrest in the village of Soyudlu and the Imishli district.

In his view, the current amnesty, like previous similar acts and pardons, are merely an imitation of "acts of humanism." "These steps are aimed at reducing criticism abroad of the Azerbaijani authorities over political prisoners, whose number has grown rapidly in recent years and now stands at nearly 400," Yunusov said.

According to Elshan Hasanov, co-coordinator of the Union for the Freedom of Political Prisoners of Azerbaijan, approximately 10-15 more people could be released before the amnesty ends in April, when it will only be implemented by then. By that time, they will have less than six months left on their sentences.

"The amnesty only affected religious political prisoners convicted of drug-related offenses. The amnesty will not fundamentally change the situation with political prisoners. Since October 2025, when we published an updated list of political prisoners, new arrests have followed. After the amnesty is released, approximately 350-360 political prisoners will remain in prison." "Political prisoners are convicted of serious crimes, and amnesty doesn't apply to them," Gasanov told a "Caucasian Knot" correspondent.

He believes that the issue of political prisoners can be resolved through a separate order pardoning and dropping charges against those who have not yet been convicted, as well as by ending the persecution of citizens for political reasons.

12:13 11.06.2025

Key points about the record number of political prisoners in Azerbaijan

In 2024, the number of political prisoners in Azerbaijan reached its highest level in the country's 23 years of membership in the Council of Europe. In February 2025, human rights activists reported 357 names added to the list, and in June, 375 names. The largest increase in prisoners occurred over the past year.

Ilham Aliyev initiated the previous large-scale amnesty in November 2021. The amnesty, which will cover more than 15,000 people, will not extend to political prisoners, human rights activists suggested at the time.

Moreover, in 2024, the number of political prisoners in Azerbaijan exceeded 300 for the first time since the early 2000s. In October 2025, the Union for Freedom of Political Prisoners in Azerbaijan published a new national list of political prisoners, including 392 names. At the same time, the Azerbaijani authorities deny the existence of political prisoners in the country.