Azerbaijani regime ‘trying to break’ opposition leader by denying him safe water in prison, family warn

Exclusive : The family of Ali Karimli claims the regime is ‘deliberately trying to break him’ as they urged the UK to intervene in the pro-democracy leader’s case

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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 gallbladder 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 Azerbaijani 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 arrests 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 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.

“In Karimli’s case, the deterioration in his detention conditions after he spoke publicly about his treatment is particularly disturbing. The reported sleep deprivation, isolation from his family, restrictions on telephone calls and access to information raise serious concerns about Karimli’s inhuman or degrading treatment.”

Mr Karimli’s lawyers have observed that he appears to have lost “significant weight” in recent weeks, is visibly distressed and has “a markedly yellow complexion and red eyes”.

“We believe the sleep deprivation, the heat without ventilation, and the denial of water and food are being used deliberately to break him physically, because they have not been able to break him any other way,” Ms Karimli added.

She said: “A government confident in its charges brings them to trial, whereas one that holds a man for eight months without trial while degrading his conditions is not building a case, it is applying pressure.”

The pre-trial detention has now been extended to November but no trial date has been set. Ms Karimli said the coming weeks are a “critical window” for her father, who faces a potential life sentence in prison.

“The time for international pressure is now, while he is still in pre-trial detention. Every week in these conditions is a week his life is at risk,” she said.

Ms Karimli urged the UK government – as Azerbaijan’s largest foreign investor – to make a public statement to the Azerbaijani government about her father’s treatment and to press for his release.

She said the latest communiqué to Azerbaijani foreign minister Jeyhun Bayramov regarding Mr Karimli’s detention came on 12 May, before the escalation in June.

Ms Karimli said: “Human Rights Watch said this week that Azerbaijan’s international partners should raise his case publicly and in bilateral meetings. We are asking the UK to do exactly that, urgently.”

A spokesperson for the UK foreign office told The Independent : “We have raised Ali Karimli’s case with senior members of the Azerbaijani government, including pressing them to follow due legal process and ensure necessary access to medical care in accordance with their international obligations and commitments.

"We continue to monitor this case closely, alongside the wider human rights situation in Azerbaijan, and raise concerns about the protection of freedoms directly with the Azerbaijani government."

Azerbaijan’s ministry of foreign affairs did not respond to a request for comment.

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