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Statement by Maria Dahle, Human Rights House Foundation’s Director in reaction to today’s sentencing of human rights defender Anar Mammadli in Azerbaijan.

Uttalelse fra Direktør i Human Rights House Foundation Maria Dahle etter dagens dom mot menneskerettighetsforsvarer Anar Mammadli i Aserbajdsjan:

Human Rights House Foundation (HRHF) and Human Rights House Azerbaijan welcome the adoption of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) resolution “Silencing critical voices in Azerbaijan”, and calls for urgent follow-up to protect human rights defenders, journalists, civil society and critical voices inside Azerbaijan and in exile.

During the first Supplementary Human Dimension Meeting of 2026, Human Rights House Foundation warned that the continued detention of prominent Azerbaijani human rights defender Anar Mammadli reflects wider pattern of reprisals against civic actors across the OSCE region. HRHF urged participating States to make every effort to protect human rights defenders engaging with the OSCE.

On 22 September 2025, Azerbaijani human rights defender and political prisoner Anar Mammadli delivered his defence statement at the Baku Court on Grave Crimes. In his address, Mammadli stated “I do not recognise this court, and I consider it a political show staged by the repressive ruling regime in Azerbaijan.” Mammadli denounced the charges against him as baseless and politically motivated, and called for the Court to terminate the case. This article was written by human rights lawyer Emin Abbasov.

On 8 October at the OSCE Warsaw Human Dimension Conference, HRHF amplified the voice of imprisoned Azerbaijani election monitor Anar Mammadli, urging OSCE Member States to act against reprisals targeting human rights defenders and journalists.

“This year’s Václav Havel Prize must signal the Council of Europe to turn praise of courage into action against autocrats, even within its own ranks,” argues Emin Abbasov (Independent Lawyers Network), Maria Dahle (Human Rights House Foundation), and Natallia Satsunkevich (Human Rights Centre Viasna) in International Politics and Society.

At the 60th session of the UN Human Rights Council, Human Rights House Foundation (HRHF) raised concern over emblematic reprisals against civil society for engaging with the Council, highlighting the politically motivated detention of Azerbaijani human rights defender Anar Mammadli and the designation of HRHF as an “undesirable organisation” in Russia.

Since 2023, Azerbaijan has been conducting its most comprehensive crackdown against civil society in its post-independence history. With the majority of human rights defenders, journalists, and lawyers in exile or behind bars, the few that remain are unable to operate in a civic space that defenders describe as transitioning from “shrinking” to “closing”. In 2025, Human Rights House Foundation discussed the situation with representatives of Azerbaijani civil society in exile, as well as those who remain despite severe and increasing risks.