Azerbaijan

The Government of Azerbaijan has a long and well-documented history of restricting internationally-protected civil and political rights. More than simply curbing the exercise of these rights, the government has moved to crush dissent and silence independent voices while going to great lengths to portray itself as a prosperous, rights-respecting democracy; an image which belies a corrosive truth.

An Authoritarian Regime
Since assuming office in 2003, President Ilham Aliyev has severely limited political competition and pluralism. Aliyev and his New Azerbaijan Party have effective control over the executive, legislative, and judicial branches. In February 2024, Aliyev won a fifth consecutive term with 92% of the vote, keeping him in office until at least 2031.

Numerous independent observers have categorized Azerbaijan as an authoritarian state with limited political and civil freedoms. The Economist’s 2023 Democracy Index labels Azerbaijan as authoritarian, giving it a score of 2.8 out of a possible 10, placing it in 130th place out of 167 countries. Freedom House’s 2024 Nations in Transit report identifies Azerbaijan as a “consolidated authoritarian regime” giving it a score of 1 out of 100. Reporters Without Borders’s World Press Freedom Index ranks Azerbaijan 164 out of 180 countries.

Azerbaijan has relied on arbitrary detention to silence dissent for more than a decade. Local observers estimate there are approximately 331 political prisoners detained in the country as of December 2024. Many of them have been arrested and convicted during the current crackdown, which began in November 2022. You can find more details about individual political prisoners here.

A Corrupt Regime
Azerbaijan’s economy is dominated by oil and gas, which account for 89 percent of its nearly $40 billion in annual export revenue. Of particular importance is the Southern Gas Corridor, the European Union’s twelve-year, $45 billion project to build a network of pipelines from Azerbaijan to Italy to reduce European dependence on Russian natural gas. Natural gas sector profits are significantly concentrated among a small group of the Aliyev regime’s supporters and relatives.

In 2017 it was revealed that Azerbaijan spent $2.9 billion dollars between 2012 and 2014 to curry influence, pay lobbyists, apologists, and to launder cash. The scheme, known as the Azerbaijani Laundromat, spent money in Germany, the UK, France, Turkey, Iran, and Kazakhstan. The source of the money is not always clear, but it came from companies linked in President Aliyev, state ministers, the International Bank of Azerbaijan.