The resolution calls on the Azerbaijani government to end the repressions, release those imprisoned for political reasons, and urges the European Commission to suspend the Memorandum of Understanding on gas imports signed with Azerbaijan.

On December 19, the European Parliament adopted a resolution calling for sanctions against three high-ranking Azerbaijani officials.

After discussions, 434 MEPs voted in favor of the resolution, 30 voted against, and 89 abstained. The document is advisory in nature and does not carry mandatory weight.

Amid the arrests of political activists in Baku, European lawmakers are calling for sanctions against Fuad Alasgarov, the head of the Law Enforcement Agencies Coordination Department at the Presidential Administration and assistant to President Ilham Aliyev, Interior Minister Vilayat Eyvazov, and the head of the State Security Service, Ali Nagiyev.

The document released in this regard states that since 2023, the Azerbaijani government has been carrying out systematic repression against civil society, the opposition, human rights defenders, the LGBTI+ community, and independent media. These pressures intensified during the lead-up to the COP29 conference.

"The resolution states that there are more than 300 political prisoners in Azerbaijan, including 23 Armenian military captives, among them former leaders of the unrecognized Nagorno-Karabakh Republic."

The document also recalls the health issues of political prisoner and finalist of the 2024 Sakharov Prize Gubad Ibadoghlu, and human rights defender Anar Mammadli.

"The European Court of Human Rights has ruled that Gubad Ibadoglu's health is in critical condition, requiring hospitalization and urgent heart surgery. However, obstacles are being placed in the implementation of this decision.

Anar Məmmədli, a member of civil society, has been held in pre-trial detention on false charges since April 2024, and his health has deteriorated due to the lack of medical care."

The European Parliament resolution also addresses the recent arrests carried out in Azerbaijan.

"At the beginning of December 2024, the Azerbaijani authorities arrested journalists Aynur Ganbarova, Aytaj Ahmadova, Khayala Aghayeva, Natiq Javadli, and Aysel Umudova from MeydanTV, as well as journalists Ramin Jabrailzada and Ahmad Mukhtar, Deputy Director of the Baku School of Journalism Ulvi Tahirov, political leader Azer Gasimli, and human rights defender Rufat Safarov. They are all facing baseless and politically motivated charges," the resolution emphasizes.

It was noted that environmental activist Kamran Mammadli was attacked by security personnel during COP29 and later banned from leaving the country.

The resolution of the Parliament emphasized the violation of prisoners' rights in prisons, their detention in inhuman conditions, and the torture they were subjected to. It also recalled that female political prisoners, including journalist Nargiz Absalamova from "Abzas Media," faced particular pressure.

Considering all the aforementioned, the resolution issued by the European Parliament includes the following demands:

1. We strongly condemn the violation of the rights to freedom of expression, association, and peaceful assembly by the Azerbaijani government, as well as the misuse of the judicial system for political purposes;
    
2. We call on the Azerbaijani authorities to immediately end repression against all opposition groups, to immediately revoke false, politically motivated charges against human rights defenders, journalists, political and other activists, and to unconditionally release them;
    
3. We demand that the authorities immediately lift the travel ban on Gubad Ibadoglu, revoke all charges against him unconditionally, and allow him to travel abroad for urgent medical treatment. We condemn the denial of his participation in or online connection to the Sakharov Prize ceremony;
    
4. We call on the Azerbaijani authorities to align the laws on the registration and funding of non-governmental organizations and the media with the recommendations of the Venice Commission, to lift the excessively harsh restrictions imposed on independent media, and to halt the repression against MeydanTV, ToplumTV, Abzas Media, and Kanal13;
    
5. We demand the imposition of sanctions on Azerbaijani officials, such as Fuad Alasgarov, Vilayat Eyvazov, and Ali Nagiyev, who are responsible for serious human rights violations under the EU's global human rights sanctions regime;
    
6. The EU-Azerbaijan partnership agreement, including in the energy sector, should be conditional upon respect for fundamental rights and the release of all political prisoners. We once again call on the Commission to suspend the 2022 Memorandum of Understanding on Strategic Partnership in the energy sector.