The Human Rights Committee of Sweden’s Scientific and Literary Academies has, in a letter to the Azerbaijani authorities, expressed concern over the prison sentence against researcher Igbal Abilov and appealed for his immediate release.
Igbal Abilov, an ethnographer and historian residing in Belarus, was arrested during a family visit to Azerbaijan in 2024 and, in May 2025, sentenced to 18 years in prison on charges including high treason. The trial was held behind closed doors and, according to reliable reports, no credible evidence was presented to support the accusations, which are linked to his academic contacts with Armenian colleagues. Abilov has long conducted research on ethnic minorities in the South Caucasus, Turkey and Iran, and has advocated for the rights of the Talysh and other minorities in the region.
The letter:
Stockholm 25 August 2025
Your Excellency,
We, the Human Rights Committee of Sweden’s Scientific and Literary Academies, write to express our great concern about Igbal Abilov, a researcher who was recently convicted in Azerbaijan on spurious national security-related charges that appear to be connected with his academic work.
Mr. Abilov—who has resided in Belarus since he was a young child—is an ethnic Talysh scholar and lecturer at Belarusian State University. In June 2024, while visiting family members in Azerbaijan, he was held for questioning by security forces for several hours. When he tried to return to Belarus a few days later, he was stopped at the airport and his passport was confiscated. The following month, Mr. Abilov was detained and charged with several alleged national security-related crimes. Reliable reports indicate that, for a period of time following his arrest, the authorities banned him from having any communication with his family. Mr. Abilov’s trial began in late February 2025 before the Lankaran Court for Grave Crimes. On May 20, he was convicted of “high treason” and incitement of ethnic hatred and was sentenced to 18 years in prison. We understand that the trial was closed and that no credible evidence was presented to support the charges brought against him. Reliable reports indicate that the charges brought against Mr. Abilov stemmed from his communications with Armenian scholars in his field, which he and his lawyer have affirmed were academic in nature.
Mr. Abilov is an ethnographer and historian whose academic work focuses on ethnic minorities of the South Caucasus, Turkey, and Iran. We understand that he has advocated for the rights of the Talysh people and other ethnic minorities in the region. Mr. Abilov is also co-founder of the Talysh National Academy and editor-in-chief of The Herald of the National Academy of Talysh, an international journal dedicated to the scholarly study of the Talysh. It is our understanding that Mr. Abilov is one of a number of academics, journalists, and rights advocates who have been targeted as part of a widely reported government crackdown on freedom of expression in recent years.
We share concerns expressed by the international scholarly and human rights communities that the charges brought against Mr. Abilov appear to stem from his academic research and writings and the peaceful expression of his opinions.
Criminalizing the exercise of the right to freedom of expression is inconsistent with the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, to which Azerbaijan is a state party.
In light of the above, we respectfully request that you use your good offices to ensure Mr. Abilov’s prompt release from prison. In the interim, we ask for your assistance in ensuring that his conditions of confinement conform with the U.N. Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners, including with regard to regular access to legal counsel, family visits, and all needed medical care.
Thank you in advance, Your Excellency, for your attention to this matter of utmost importance to the scientific community.
Respectfully yours,
Stefan Svallfors
Professor, Chairman of the Human Rights Committee of Sweden’s Scientific and Literary Academies
The Human Rights Committee of Sweden’s Scientific and Literary Academies includes members of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, the Royal Swedish Academy of Letters, History and Antiquities, the Swedish Academy and the Young Academy of Sweden.
