Wife of Paralyzed Activist Reports Surveillance at COP29

Kichikhanim Khalilova, the wife of arrested public activist and first-group disabled person, Famil Khalilov, reported being followed during her time at the COP29 conference on November 13. She had been accredited in the "Green Zone" as a civil rights activist. From the moment she entered the conference area, a young man began to follow her.

"When I was speaking with representatives from Sweden, including a member of their parliament, this young man was filming us on a tablet. The surveillance continued even after we left the conference area. When I entered the 'Koroglu' metro station, I was followed by two men in plain clothes. When I got off at the 'Narimanov' station, they caught up with me at the exit and blocked my way. They called someone and seemed to discuss something, but then they said they had 'made a mistake,'" Khalilova told the Turan news agency.

Today, she visited her husband in pre-trial detention. According to her, the activist has become severely weakened after 80 days of hunger strike and is now suffering from the flu. His trial is set to continue on November 28.

The Khalilov family lived in Sweden for several years, but they were denied asylum and deported to Azerbaijan a year ago, where Famil was accused of involvement in the drug trade and arrested.