The deterioration of the condition of opposition leader Gadirli has alarmed his relatives.
The health of Vugar Gadirli, arrested in Azerbaijan, has worsened, but he is not receiving the necessary medical care, the opposition leader's relatives reported.
As reported by the "Caucasian Knot," on February 14, Azerbaijan Popular Front Party (APFP) member Vugar Gadirli (Gadirov) went on a hunger strike in a detention center in protest against his criminal prosecution. His relatives reported that he is not receiving the medications he needs.
On December 12, 2025, security forces detained Vugar Gadirli in the Imishli district. The following day, Gadirli was arrested on charges of illegal possession of firearms. Party members called the accusation false. "During a search of his home, they 'discovered' weapons, which, according to relatives, plainclothes police officers themselves planted on Vugar Gadirli," Natig Adilov, head of the PFPA press service, told the "Caucasian Knot."
Vugar Gadirli's relatives reported the deteriorating health of his captive, who is being held in a prison in the Lankaran region.
According to them, Gadirli, who is a second-degree disabled person from the Karabakh war, is not receiving the necessary medical care or undergoing examinations, Meydan TV reported on its website on March 23.
Official authorities could not be reached for comment, the publication noted. The publication did not specify whether Gadirli had ended his hunger strike, which he announced in February.
As a reminder, in November 2025, State Security Service officers detained Popular Front Party leader Ali Karimli and his advisor Mammad Ibrahim. Both opposition figures were arrested and charged under Article 278.1 of the Azerbaijani Criminal Code (actions aimed at the violent seizure of power or the violent change of the constitutional order of the state). They denied the charges, with Karimli calling his criminal case political persecution.
On February 12, the State Security Service announced the uncovering of a conspiracy against the country's authorities involving former high-ranking officials and opposition figures. Among the defendants in the case are former head of the presidential administration Ramiz Mehdiyev and Ali Karimli.
In 2025, Azerbaijani authorities intensified repression against the Popular Front Party of Azerbaijan, culminating in the arrests of Ali Karimli and his associates, the party stated earlier. By the end of January 2026, 20 members of the PFPA were in custody – on fabricated criminal charges, according to fellow party members.
The PFPA is the successor to the Popular Front movement, which was founded in 1989 to fight for Azerbaijan's independence and transformed into a party in 1995. In 2000, Ali Kerimli, who held the post of State Secretary of Azerbaijan in 1993 and was elected as a member of parliament on the PFPA list in 1995 and 2000, became the chairman of the PFPA. In 2015, Karimli was re-elected as chairman of the Popular Front Party of Azerbaijan.
The Popular Front Party of Azerbaijan has become a target of the authorities. Azerbaijan due to its consistent fight against the rise of authoritarianism and corruption in the country. At the same time, there is no other party in Azerbaijan that has been so "permanently subjected to pressure, persecution, and repression" over the past 20 years, Jamil Hasanli, chairman of the National Council of Democratic Forces, told the Caucasian Knot.
The number of political prisoners in Azerbaijan reached its highest point in 2024 since the country's 23-year membership in the Council of Europe, according to the Caucasian Knot report "Key Points About the Record Number of Political Prisoners in Azerbaijan." Meanwhile, the Azerbaijani authorities deny the existence of political prisoners in the country.
Translated automatically via Google translate from https://www.kavkaz-uzel.eu/articles/421856
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