Ganja case (2018)

Ganja case
DateJuly 2018 – 2019
Location
Ganja, Azerbaijan
Caused byAttempt on mayor's life, public grievances over corruption and local governance
MethodsProtests, police operations, mass arrests
StatusOngoing legal appeals; ECtHR applications pending
Parties
Government of Azerbaijan
Protesters and defendants
Casualties and losses
2 police officers killed (10 July 2018)
Several protesters injured (reports vary)

The Ganja case (2018) or Ganja events of 2018 (Azerbaijani: Gəncə iğtişaşları (2018)) refers to mass arrests and prosecutions that followed an assassination attempt of the mayor of Ganja, Elmar Valiyev, which caused unrest in the city of Ganja, Azerbaijan, in July 2018.

A local man by the name of Yunis Safarov, shot and wounded the mayor of the city on 3 July 2018 and a week later, protesters in the city clashed with police, during which two police officers were killed. In the aftermath, Azerbaijani authorities arrested dozens of people and brought multiple criminal charges against them for organizing the violence.[1][2] Human-rights organisations have expressed concerns over torture and mistreatment allegations related to the case and an application has been filed with ECtHR.

Background

The authorities classified the shooting by Safarov as a premeditated "terror act" alleging he received military training abroad and intended "to cause chaos and panic in the republic and forcibly seize power."[3]

Safarov reportedly stated that he attacked the mayor because of grievances and complaints about alleged abuses and misconduct that had been repeatedly ignored.[4] After his arrest, rallies and protests took place under slogans criticizing the mayor's leadership and calling out "official impunity."[5]

Following the failed assassination of the mayor and the protests that ensued, prosecutors charged a large number of suspects with offences including organising mass disorder, possession of weapons and other serious crimes, while identifying the crowd as "supporters of a radical religious movement seeking to incite riots".[2] Safarov was sentenced to life imprisonment.[6] In the period from 2018 to 2019 the courts in Azerbaijan convicted and gave lengthy prison sentences to several of the defendants.[7]

Allegations of torture and unfair trial

Several human-rights groups, defence lawyers and international NGOs documented allegations of torture of detainees and that some trials failed to meet international fair-trial standards. The International Partnership for Human Rights (IPHR) published a detailed report describing arbitrary arrests, forced confessions and inadequate access to lawyers.[8]

The European Human Rights Advocacy Centre (EHRAC) submitted an application to the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) on behalf of five people, alleging torture, denial of medical care, and the use of forced confessions during their trials.[9][10] Independent human-rights monitors also reported widespread allegations of ill-treatment of detainees and other violations in the investigation and trials related to this case.[11]

Azerbaijani authorities have rejected claims that the prosecutions were politically motivated and maintain that the arrests and convictions were lawful responses to violent events. Domestic courts reportedly refused to investigate torture allegations.[12]

Reactions

Several international and domestic human-rights organisations expressed concerns about the treatment of detainees. Human Rights Watch, Amensty International, Freedom House, Institute for War & Peace Reporting (IWPR) documented systemic patterns of arbitrary detention, torture, and forced confessions in Azerbaijan, noting that concerns in the Ganja case were consistent with broader problems in the country’s criminal-justice system.[13][14][15][16]

The US Department of State 2020 country report also mentions credible allegations of torture, arbitrary detentions and forced confessions, and notes that human-rights defender Oktay Gulaliyev, who publicly defended some of the detainees in the Ganja case, had a car accident in 2019 and remained in a coma under circumstances that raised concerns of a possible reprisal.[17]

Relatives of those convicted held protests in Baku in 2019, alleging torture and unfair trials and calling for independent investigations.[18]

See also

References

  1. ^ "Assassination attempt and protest send warning to Azerbaijan's rulers". Reuters. 7 August 2018. Retrieved 2 December 2025.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  2. ^ a b "Two police officers killed in Ganja rally after botched assassination on mayor". OC-Media. 11 July 2018.
  3. ^ "Azerbaijan’s law enforcement authorities issue joint statement on armed attack on Ganja city mayor". Apa.az. Retrieved 2025-12-02.
  4. ^ "The guilt of those sentenced to long terms of imprisonment was not proven in court". Institute for Peace & Democracy (IPD). 16 August 2021. Retrieved 2 December 2025.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  5. ^ "Protest in Azerbaijan's Ganja against prosecutions over 2018 unrest". OC Media. 2019-04-30. Retrieved 2025-12-02.
  6. ^ ""Gəncə işi" başa çatdı- Yunis Səfərov ömürlük, digərləri 20 ilə qədər cəza aldılar (Yenilənib)". Müsavat (in Azerbaijani). August 16, 2021. Retrieved July 19, 2023.
  7. ^ "More dozen sentenced to lengthy prison terms over Ganja incidents". MeydanTV. 7 March 2019.
  8. ^ "Azerbaijani government crackdown in Ganja" (PDF). IPHR. 29 January 2020.
  9. ^ "Huseynov and others v Azerbaijan". European Human Rights Advocacy Centre (EHRAC). Retrieved 2025-12-02.
  10. ^ "Defendants in 'Ganja case' take torture claims to European Court of Human Rights". EHRAC. 28 April 2020.
  11. ^ "Azerbaijani government crackdown in Ganja: extrajudicial killings, torture, arbitrary detention, unfair trials and unlawful restrictions on the freedom of assembly" (PDF). www.iphronline.org. 2020. Retrieved 2 December 2025.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  12. ^ admin (2019-11-18). "Ganja City Court on Grave Crimes passed a sentence on 11 defendants on so called "Ganja Case"". INSTITUTE FOR PEACE AND DEMOCRACY. Retrieved 2025-12-02.
  13. ^ Human Rights Watch, “Azerbaijan: Escalating Crackdown on Critics and Civil Society,” https://www.hrw.org/report/2024/10/08/we-try-stay-invisible/azerbaijans-escalating-crackdown-critics-and-civil-society
  14. ^ Azerbaijan 2019: Annual Report (Report). Amnesty International. 2020. Retrieved 2 December 2025.
  15. ^ Azerbaijan: Nations in Transit 2019 (Report). Freedom House. 2019. Retrieved 2 December 2025.
  16. ^ "Azerbaijan: Controversy Surrounds Ganja Trial". Institute for War and Peace Reporting (IWPR). 2019. Retrieved 2 December 2025.
  17. ^ 2020 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices: Azerbaijan (Report). United States Department of State. 2021. Retrieved 2 December 2025.
  18. ^ JAMnews, "Ganja residents bring protest against torture of imprisoned relatives to Baku," https://jam-news.net/ganja-residents-bring-protest-against-torture-of-imprisoned-relatives-to-baku/
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