BAKU -- The chairman of the opposition Popular Front Party of Azerbaijan (AXCP), Ali Karimli, said on August 9 that a criminal case had been filed against him on charges of slander and insult, which he called "a falsification" by the authorities.
Karimli added that he was summoned to a Baku court, which will hold a preliminary hearing in the case on August 13.
He said later that the case was based on a lawsuit filed by Aydin Aliyev, who was expelled from the AXCP in 2019, but had his membership restored by a court decision.
Karimli told journalists that he expected that the authorities will try to trump up some charges against him amid an ongoing crackdown on dissent.
"Twelve members of the AXCP are currently serving prison terms. Following our party's last congress (in June 2023), the authorities have intensified pressure against our party.... The same person [Aydin Aliyev] filed another lawsuit earlier that may lead to the AXCP's being shut down. And now, the same plaintiff targets me, filing a lawsuit against me," Karimli said.
Karimli has been under pressure from authorities for decades. In 1994 he had to fight a charge of illegally possessing explosives. Since 2006 he has been unable to travel internationally, as the authorities have refused to issue him a passport.
Also on August 9, political analyst Sahin Cafarli said he was officially banned from leaving the country over his links to the Toplum TV channel.
In March, nine staff members at Toplum TV and its affiliated Democratic Initiatives Institute were charged with smuggling foreign currency. Seven of them were arrested and two were placed under police supervision.
Cafarli, who used to work as a presenter at Toplum TV, has been summoned for police questioning several times since the arrests.
All nine suspects reject the charges, while human rights groups have recognized them as political prisoners and demanded that the authorities release them immediately and drop all charges.
Azerbaijani officials have insisted that there are no political prisoners in the tightly controlled country.
The president of the oil-rich South Caucasus state, Ilham Aliyev, has ruled with an iron fist since 2003 after taking over from his father, Heydar, who was president for a decade.