New List of Political Prisoners in Azerbaijan – 331 People

On December 12, the Union for "Freedom for Political Prisoners in Azerbaijan" published an updated list of political prisoners, which now includes the names of 331 individuals.

From the previous list, the following individuals have been removed: the disabled Famil Khalilov, who was transferred to house arrest, as well as three individuals involved in the "Terter Case" and one from the "Ganja Case."  The updated list adds 17 new names, including five journalists from Meydan TV and their detained colleague, reporter Ramin Deko, media expert Ulvi Tairov, human rights defender Rufat Safarov, and political scientist Azer Gasimli.

The list also includes Joshgun Musaev, a resident of the village of Soyudlu, who was sentenced on drug charges. However, the real reason for his arrest was his role in creating posters for the protesting villagers. Other new additions are members of the "Muslim Unity" group and religious individuals.

The 331 political prisoners are classified into 11 groups: Journalists and Bloggers – 25 people; Human Rights Defenders – 4 people; Members of Opposition Parties and Civil Society – 30 people ; Activists for National Minorities – 3 people; Anti-War Activists – 2 people; Convicts from the Soyudlu Case – 2 people; Deported Political Immigrants from Germany – 5 people; Religious Individuals – 233 people; Convicts from the Terter Case – 4 people; Convicts from the Ganja Case – 12 people; Life Imprisoned – 11 people.

The list was compiled by former prisoners of conscience: Leila Yunus, director of the Institute for Peace and Democracy (a former "prisoner of conscience"), and Elshan Hasanov, head of the Political Prisoners Monitoring Center.