Azerbaijani regime ‘trying to break’ opposition leader by denying him safe water in prison, family warn
The family of Azerbaijan’s detained pro-democracy opposition leader has claimed that the regime is “deliberately trying to break him” by denying him safe drinking water in prison, amid growing concern over his physical condition.
Ali Karimli, 61, faces life in prison on “politically motivated” treason charges after being arrested in November and accused of plotting to overthrow the government in a Russian-backed coup. He has vehemently denied the charges and is awaiting trial.
His family have raised concerns about his physical state after he spoke with international media from prison in June to appeal for Western governments to put human rights before trade ties with Azerbaijan.
Speaking at the Baku Court of Appeal earlier this month, Mr Karimli sought to replace his pre-trial detention status with house arrest and claimed that his conditions in prison had worsened in recent weeks, according to his lawyers.
He said that for two days he had been denied water that he could safely consume and that he believes the authorities are deliberately trying to make him ill and cause his death.
Mr Karimli says that he is unable to drink the tap water offered to him to due to a gall bladder condition.
Sezan Karimli, his daughter, told The Independent that her father has not been allowed direct contact with the family since June, has been denied food parcels from them, and has spent weeks without ventilation in 30-35C heat.
She said Mr Karimli has been deprived of sleep for weeks and is no longer allowed to exercise, to go outside or to read books or newspapers in prison. His rubbish has not been removed for weeks, she said.
“Since 10 June he has been denied all telephone contact and visits with his family. What motivated it is not complicated: he kept speaking, and this is the punishment,” she assessed.
Mr Karimli is a long-standing proponent of democracy in Azerbaijan and has continued to speak out against alleged rights abuses, including torture, under the government of Ilham Aliyev.
Rights groups say a focused crackdown has targeted Mr Karimli’s Azerbaijan Popular Front Party (APFP) since late 2025. That comes amid a wider silencing of dissent and free expression over the last decade that has seen the arrest of hundreds of journalists, activists and political opponents.
Giorgi Gogia, deputy director of the Europe and Central Asia Division at Human Rights Watch, told The Independent that they have seen no credible evidence to substantiate the charge that Mr Karimli was involved in an attempt to violently seize power.
“His prosecution also cannot be viewed in isolation from the Azerbaijani government’s much broader campaign against its critics,” he said, adding: “What we do have is a well-documented pattern in Azerbaijan of government critics being arrested and prosecuted on unfounded or highly questionable criminal charges.”
He said the methods of repression were increasingly familiar: serious criminal accusations unsupported by credible evidence, a lengthy pretrial detention, restrictions on contact with family and lawyers, and other forms of pressure designed not simply to punish an individual critic but to intimidate those around them.
