Amnesty International Urges Azerbaijan to Revoke In Absentia Arrest Warrants Against Exiled Activists

Amnesty International has called on the Azerbaijani authorities to revoke in absentia arrest warrants issued against government critics, political activists and public figures living abroad.

The organization says the use of criminal proceedings against exiled activists raises serious concerns about the Azerbaijani government’s pressure on dissent beyond the country’s borders.

Political analyst Arastun Orujlu, who currently lives in the United States, says such court decisions do not stop his political activity, but they seriously restrict his freedom of movement.

According to Orujlu, the main purpose of these cases is to block the return of exiled activists to Azerbaijan and to keep them under constant legal pressure abroad.

“They prosecute activists living abroad on such charges in order to close the road back to the country. This is the first goal,” Orujlu said.

He added that the second goal is to limit their ability to travel internationally. Orujlu warned that Azerbaijani authorities may use these convictions or arrest warrants to apply to Interpol and seek the detention of critics in foreign countries.

If such requests are made, activists may be stopped at airports, detained by local law enforcement agencies, or forced to go through lengthy legal proceedings while extradition requests are examined.

Orujlu said the risk is especially high in countries where Azerbaijani dissidents may not be fully protected from politically motivated extradition requests. He specifically mentioned Georgia, Ukraine and some Eastern European countries as places where exiled Azerbaijani activists could face greater danger.

The issue has become part of wider concerns about Azerbaijan’s treatment of political opponents, independent journalists and civil society representatives both inside the country and abroad. Human rights groups have repeatedly accused Baku of using criminal cases, travel bans and international legal mechanisms to silence critics.

Amnesty International has urged Azerbaijan to end the practice of targeting exiled activists through in absentia proceedings and to cancel the arrest warrants already issued against them.

The Azerbaijani authorities deny that critics are prosecuted for political reasons. Officials maintain that all criminal cases are based on concrete legal violations.