For two months, Azerbaijan’s most famous opposition leader has sat in a high-security cell without evidence, without answers – and largely without witnesses.
Now, for the first time, his family is speaking out.
In an exclusive interview with Kyiv Post, Samara Seyidova, the wife of jailed Azerbaijani Popular Front Party (PFPA) leader Ali Karimli, calls the alleged coup plot “a farce,” accuses President Ilham Aliyev of exploiting a distracted world to crush the last organized opposition, and warns Washington that its silence is helping turn a strategic energy partner into what she calls “a completely closed authoritarian system.”
“There is no case,” Seyidova says. “Not in December. Not now. Nothing – except fabricated material invented to justify an arrest that was decided long before any investigation began.”
The interview – the first by any member of Karimli’s family to international media – offers a rare window into a widening crackdown unfolding as global attention drifts to Ukraine and the Middle East.
Seyidova describes a prosecution with no generals, no weapons, no co-conspirators – only opposition figures behind bars, while the regime’s longtime powerbrokers remain untouched.
She also delivers a blunt message to Washington: keep the security partnership, but start naming names. “Why is Aliyev treated as legitimate,” she asks, “while others are sanctioned as pariahs?”
(Editor’s note: the responses are from Ali Karimli’s wife, Samara Seyidova, on behalf of Ali Karimli)
Kyiv Post: Your investigation appears to have stalled with no new evidence presented since December. Do you believe the authorities are struggling to build a credible case, or is the delay itself a deliberate tactic to keep you in legal limbo indefinitely?
Samara Seyidova: Firstly, it is important to be clear and accurate: no evidence has been presented.
Not now, not in December. What the authorities have attempted to present as evidence is anything but that. It is completely uncredible, fabricated material, concocted at the last minute to justify Ali Karimli’s arrest, to justify Mammad Ibrahim’s arrest (Deputy to the leader of the Popular Front Party of Azerbaijan), and to keep him under detention – a mere veneer of justification.
The authorities are, of course, struggling to build a credible case because there is none. There is no case to create here. It is all made up. This entire allegation is nonsense. If it had even a shred of reality, there would have been some significant evidence presented against the law enforcement or military forces – since that would presumably be the backbone of such a coup.
How can anyone, even leaving the opposition aside, conduct or plan a coup without a segment of this group being in control of actual force – something capable of toppling a regime? Not a single general or senior law enforcement official has been investigated, nor has any credible evidence been presented against them. The only people the authorities have conveniently jailed in this case are opposition leaders. Even Ramiz Mehdiyev, the alleged center of this plan, is under house detention. And since December, during this whole period of detention (now two months) Ali Karimli has been questioned only twice, and of course he said the truth: he has no idea what the authorities are talking about, and has nothing to add beyond that. This whole operation is farcical.
It is also important to note that this is not the first time that the regime tried to arrest Ali Karimli on the charge of a coup. Throughout the years, they have looked at various absurd allegations and tried to connect him to various factions that are ideologically opposed to each other. Anything just to try to get him arrested. But the international community back then was focused on holding Aliyev accountable for blatant illegality and abuse of power. And so they always postponed this action. It seems like now, they calculated that the context is ideal. In fact, so amenable that they can arrest someone on such an absurd charge and connect - try to connect him to someone like Mehdiyev: the arch enemy of the opposition for many decagames
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As for indefinite detention, they will, of course, try to prolong it for as long as suits their purposes. Realistically, however, they can only do so for up to a year. At that point, they will either have to admit that there is nothing and release us, or they will have to move forward with some pathetic charge based on nothing at all.
The prosecution has attempted to connect your case to that of former official Ramiz Mehdiyev. Given your decades of opposition to the system he helped build, how do you respond to the specific allegation that you were “financed” by him to seize power?
Of course, it is complete nonsense. How else can we respond to this? Ramiz Mehdiyev is the architect of the crackdown on the opposition for two decades. He was a loyal servant of the regime and is, rightly, one of the most despised figures by the opposition.
It was his rule, his iron grip, that secured Aliyev’s power and caused so much suffering for the Azerbaijani people.
The idea that the opposition would be financed by the very person who spent two decades trying to destroy it is laughable. There is nothing else to say here. It is just completely ludicrous. Mehdiyev stands for everything that we oppose. He stands for authoritarianism. He stands for closer alignment with the Kremlin, whereas we stand for democracy, liberty, and alignment with the European Union, the United States, and the West in general.
The timing is not coincidental. Aliyev understands that the world is distracted by events in Ukraine, the Middle East, and particularly Iran.
Following the death of PFPA member Elbeyi Kerimli in custody in late 2025, how would you describe your current treatment? Are you receiving adequate medical attention and exercise?
First of all, let us begin with Elbeyi Kerimli’s death. That, in itself, was a highly suspicious death – one that shook all of us in the opposition, as well as Azerbaijani society more broadly. Elbeyi Kerimli was a young Popular Front activist who was unjustly jailed for daring to stand up to the cult of personality surrounding Heydar Aliyev and for daring to compare him to Stalin. He was found dead after months of abuse and being held in solitary confinement.
The fact that his death occurred in a medical facility on the very day of Heydar Aliyev’s birthday anniversary, raises serious alarms and creates deep suspicion. An activist being found dead on the anniversary of Aliyev’s birthday was immediately recognized by the Azerbaijani public as highly suspicious. Furthermore, how does one commit suicide in a medical facility, in a hospital room, without anyone noticing? Why was he not under supervision? How does one hang himself in a hospital room?
All of this has created extreme doubts. Add to this the fact that the authorities did not allow a proper examination of his body, attempted to cover everything up very quickly, and rushed to bury him. All of this generated profound suspicion among the Azerbaijani public, leading to speculation that he may have been severely beaten in prison and either died in the medical facility or was already dead before being transferred there, with the authorities attempting to make it appear as a suicide.
There must be a proper investigation into this case. Unfortunately, this is not the first instance of a death in custody (a suspicious death in custody) among political prisoners in Azerbaijan. In the meantime, everyone involved in Elbeyi Kerimli’s arrest and detention, starting from the very top of the regime down to the executioners (the individuals who carried it out) must face justice and international sanctions.
There should be international Magnitsky Act sanctions applied to the judge, the law enforcement officials, the prison warden – everyone involved in sentencing him, fabricating a case against him, keeping him imprisoned under horrific conditions, and subjecting him to abuse. There must be a price paid by regime officials for committing this evil act, because at present, they face no such cost. And that must change immediately.
Now, Regarding the detention conditions of Ali Karimli and his medical condition, Ali Karimli is in extremely good health and physical shape. He is very healthy and has no medical issues whatsoever.
As for the circumstances of his detention, however, he is being kept in a three-person cell against his wishes, despite having requested to be held in a one-person cell. He is being isolated from the outside world. Certain news magazines and newspapers are not allowed to reach him. His communication with the outside world is limited.
At times, the authorities even resort to petty measures, such as refusing to allow certain hygienic products into his cell, simply to cause additional suffering and hardship. Overall, however, he remains in very good health and medical condition, and we are not concerned about his health at this time.
After years of travel bans and internet restrictions at home, what is your level of access to the outside world now? Are you permitted to see your family and lawyers without surveillance?
After years of travel bans, internet restrictions, and a de facto house arrest, they now have Ali Karimli in detention at the State Security Service detention center – the toughest security-regime detention facility in the country. Suffice it to say, Ali Karimli’s level of access to the outside world is minimal and limited to infrequent contacts with a lawyer.
Aliyev has recently cemented his legacy following the restoration of sovereignty over Karabakh. Why does Ali Karimli believe Aliyev chose this specific moment to move against him and the PFPA leadership? Is this the “final liquidation” of the political opposition? Does he believe his arrest was timed to coincide with a period when the world is distracted by global conflicts (Ukraine, Middle East), calculating that the international cost of jailing him would be minimal?
In a way, Aliyev could have used his short-lived spike in popularity after the war to implement reforms with confidence and move Azerbaijan toward Euro-Atlantic integration and away from the grip of the Kremlin. Instead, he chose to use whatever temporary political capital he gained after the war to double down on internal regime security and to silence the opposition completely.
The timing, of course, is not coincidental. He understands that the world is distracted by events in Ukraine, the Middle East, and in our neighborhood – particularly Iran. He is clearly calculating that, amid so much global chaos, the cost of jailing an opposition leader in Azerbaijan will be relatively insignificant in the grand scheme of things and will attract disproportionately little attention from global media and political actors.
So yes, we do believe that the goal is to silence Ali Karimli completely and to place the Popular Front Party under even more severe pressure. The Popular Front Party of Azerbaijan is the political party with the highest number of political prisoners – not only in Azerbaijan, but in the entire post-Soviet world. No other former Soviet Union country currently has as many political prisoners as Azerbaijan, nor does any opposition party have as many political prisoners as the Popular Front Party of Azerbaijan.
Naturally, jailing its leader moves the country further in the direction of what you described as the final attempt to liquidate the entire legitimate political opposition.
Pressure must be long-term and must not stop until there are core reforms in Azerbaijan and free and fair elections once again become a real possibility.
While US senators have recently called for Magnitsky sanctions against Azerbaijani officials, the executive branch has remained relatively quiet. What is your direct message to the US State Department regarding their “energy and security” partnership with Baku?
Yes, we understand that they are being pragmatic as political actors, but let us first not assume that the public quiet of the US State Department and the executive branch equals quiet behind closed doors. After all, it is not in the interest of the United States (or any other Western country) for Azerbaijan to degrade into a completely closed authoritarian system, where future political unrest would take the form of a decentralized, spontaneous revolt, rather than a political order in which an accountable civilian opposition can challenge the government, win elections peacefully, and oversee an orderly transfer of power.
Secondly, energy and security partnerships with Baku are naturally important for the United States and other Western countries, but they cannot be the only basis for engagement with authoritarian leaders. By that logic, the West should have simply continued buying oil and gas from Putin indefinitely as well. We know where years and decades of that policy led: Putin was enriched, massive reserves were built, and he became a menace to the very interests of the Western powers that pursued relationships based purely on pragmatism and devoid of values. Where does such a policy lead if partnerships are not also grounded in shared interests and shared values?
Thirdly, the energy and security partnership with Azerbaijan is first and foremost in the national interest of the Azerbaijani people. This is not something exclusive to the regime or to Aliyev’s personal relationship with the West. What is the implication otherwise – that if the opposition were to come to power tomorrow, Azerbaijan would no longer have energy and security partnerships with the West? Of course it would. In fact, those partnerships would be even closer, because unlike the current regime, the opposition is firmly aligned with the Euro-Atlantic world.
We live next to an imperialist Russia. Just recently – only days before the January 20 massacre commemorated by all Azerbaijanis, when Soviet troops entered Baku on tanks and used force against a peaceful population – the Kremlin’s chief ideologue, Aleksandr Dugin, and its chief propagandist, Vladimir Solovyov, were once again issuing threats against Russia’s neighbors and openly articulating new imperial ambitions. Dugin himself recently stated that, in the near term, the countries surrounding Russia would face a binary choice: either remain within Russia’s sphere of influence or attempt to escape it and join the West.
If that is indeed the choice, then it is obviously in Azerbaijan’s national interest to align itself strongly with the European Union and the United States. In fact, alignment with Euro-Atlantic institutions, values, and countries has long been a core policy position of the democratic opposition. Not only would the energy and security partnership continue under such circumstances, but it would be strengthened – grounded in Azerbaijan’s genuine long-term national interests.
This is not something Aliyev can credibly claim as something that only he can deliver. That claim is complete nonsense.
Has diplomatic “concern” has become ineffective? If Ali Karimli could speak to the US Congress today, would he advocate for a total cut-off of security assistance until all political prisoners are released?
Diplomatic restraint has been ineffective, yes. No, we would not ask Congress to cut off security assistance, because we must clearly differentiate between our national interests and the interests of the regime. Security assistance is important for our national interest.
We are sandwiched between a newly imperialist Russia – revitalized and driven by new ambitions and appetites – and Iran, which is in the midst of suppressing its own domestic uprising and is becoming increasingly aggressive toward countries that are US partners. Iranian state propaganda frequently portrays Azerbaijan as a partner of United States, which is, of course, true. But that framing also signals a potential threat to our national security from Iran as well, at least from the current Iranian regime.
For these reasons, security assistance to the country should, of course, continue. We must carefully distinguish between the regime and Azerbaijan’s national interests. The regime, on the other hand, should face new and unprecedented pressure – real sanctions. Why is the Global Magnitsky Act not being applied against key regime officials? Why is Aliyev free to park his wealth in Western countries without concern over its discovery, seizure, and repatriation to Azerbaijan, where it belongs? Why is he treated as a legitimate international actor, while his counterparts (such as Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko and Nicolás Maduro) are treated as pariahs?
Congress should sanction the current regime, impose travel bans on key individuals within it, and apply financial sanctions against senior regime officials, just as the Treasury Department has done in relation to the Iranian regime. All of these sanctions, however, must be precisely targeted at regime leaders – not at Azerbaijan as a country, and not include security cut-offs that would affect the security of ordinary Azerbaijanis in general.
Early this week, Azerbaijan released four Armenian prisoners in a swap. Do you feel that you and other local political prisoners are being held as “internal hostages” to be used as bargaining chips in future negotiations with the West?
No, we do not believe that. The detention of the Azerbaijani opposition and the arrest of the leader of the Popular Front Party are completely separate issues from the imprisonment of Armenian prisoners. No, this is not going to be used as a bargaining chip.
We need to understand that there is a serious intent here to silence the opposition definitively. He is not playing games. The way to ensure that the Popular Front Party’s political prisoners (indeed, all political prisoners in the country more broadly, including journalists from various few remaining independent news organizations, and of course Ali Karimli) are released is through sustained pressure on the regime.
The government is so adamant in its campaign of silencing opposition that even independent lawyers and attorneys doing their job representing the accused opposition members are routinely pressured, sometimes disbarred, by the government.
This pressure must be long-term and must not stop until there are core reforms in Azerbaijan and free and fair elections once again become a real possibility. He keeps these people in jail not to use them as bargaining chips, but to prevent free and fair political competition and any genuine challenge to his regime. He jails PFPA members and its leader because he is scared of competing with PFPA in an open political arena.
He must be made to bear a sufficient cost for these actions before he will change course.