European Parliament calls for immediate release of Armenian prisoners held in Azerbaijan

BRUSSELS— The European Parliament has adopted a resolution calling for the immediate release of Armenian political prisoners and prisoners of war held in Azerbaijan, including former political and military leaders of Artsakh, while condemning Baku’s intensifying crackdown on political opposition, independent media and civil society.

The resolution expresses deep concern over the continued detention of Armenians in Azerbaijani prisons and urges the authorities to respect their fundamental rights. It also highlights the growing use of politically motivated prosecutions and increasingly severe prison sentences against government critics.

European lawmakers called for the release of Azerbaijani opposition leader Ali Karimli, chairman of the Popular Front Party, who has been detained since November 2025, as well as human rights defender Anar Mammadli, sentenced to 13 years in prison, and other political detainees.

The resolution also delivers pointed criticism of the European Union’s own engagement with Azerbaijan. Referring to European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen’s visit to Baku in July and EU Special Representative Magdalena Grono’s visit in September, lawmakers expressed regret that senior EU officials had failed to publicly raise the issue of political prisoners or demand their release.

The Parliament warned that such silence risks undermining the credibility of the EU’s human rights policy, stressing that any further deepening of EU-Azerbaijan relations should be conditional on the release of political detainees and an end to the repression of independent journalists, civil society organizations and opposition figures.

Although the resolution is non-binding, it reinforces growing calls within the European Parliament for human rights considerations to play a more decisive role in relations with Baku.

Azerbaijan’s Milli Majlis rejected the resolution, describing it as a politically motivated and biased initiative. In a statement carried by the APA news agency, the Azerbaijani parliament claimed that the European Parliament’s position toward Azerbaijan had become increasingly confrontational following the 2020 Artsakh war.

Baku further maintained that the resolution could undermine ongoing Armenian-Azerbaijani normalization efforts, portraying European criticism as an obstacle to building mutual confidence and advancing the peace process.

The resolution comes as 20 Armenians remain imprisoned in Azerbaijan, including former senior political and military officials of Artsakh. Several have received sentences ranging from 20 years to life imprisonment following proceedings that have raised serious concerns over their fairness and political motivations.

The continued detention of Armenian prisoners remains one of the most pressing unresolved humanitarian and human rights issues in Armenian-Azerbaijani relations, despite ongoing diplomatic efforts toward normalization.