Azerbaijan: Exiled Critics Convicted in Absentia

Click to expand Image Police officers stand outside a courthouse on January 21, 2025, in Baku, Azerbaijan. © 2025 Aziz Karimov/Getty Images (Berlin, June 10, 2026) – Azerbaijani authorities are prosecuting critics in exile, often based on social media posts and online commentary, Human Rights Watch said today. Those targeted, often convicted in absentia with long sentences, are at risk of extradition, detention during travel, and other forms of cross-border pressure. “These trials of government