‘My arrest shows repression has now reached its peak’

Azerbaijan’s jailed opposition leader tells James C Reynolds that his country’s future is with Europe, not Russia – but the West must step up and challenge its record on human rights

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Ali Karimli has spent nearly half a year languishing in a grisly Baku jail cell on contested treason charges.

The veteran leader of Azerbaijan’s pro-democracy opposition party, 61, has long accused the regime of politically motivated detentions, torturing his staff and blowing up his party headquarters. But the latest arrest is different, he says.

Speaking to The Independent from prison, Mr Karimli says his arrest comes amid a spiralling crackdown on dissent — and urges Western trading partners to act with “courage” and press the regime on its rights record, lest political opposition disappear altogether.

“The repressive campaign already underway ... has now reached its peak with my arrest,” he said, adding: “It signals that a new era has begun - one in which the authorities intend to eliminate organised political opposition in Azerbaijan permanently.”

Rights groups have identified at least 340 people they say have been detained as political prisoners, including journalists and activists.

Concerns grew in December when a 22-year-old regime critic died by apparent suicide in prison. An investigation was never published.

Mr Karimli warns that Baku’s trade partners are sacrificing hopes of long-term stability in the energy-rich country by “looking the other way”, and calls on the UK - as Azerbaijan’s largest foreign investor — to use its leverage.

As he prepares to face trial next month, Mr Karimli says the regime will be watching the international reaction to gauge how to proceed with its crackdown, leaving only a short window for action. Mr Karimli was detained on 29 November after security agents raided his home. He was accused of conspiring to overthrow the government in a Russian-backed coup and held incommunicado for two days before being remanded on pretrial detention.