The Supreme Court of Azerbaijan has rejected the appeal of imprisoned political analyst and OC Media contributor Bahruz Samadov, who was sentenced to 15 years in prison on treason charges in June 2025. Following the court’s decision on Thursday, Samadov chanted slogans: “Freedom!”, “Stop illegal arrests!”, and “Stop the repression!”
As reported by OC Media, the defense demanded Samadov’s acquittal, stating that “the charges were unsubstantiated.” The lawyers also requested to overturn Samadov’s transfer to the Umbaki strict-regime penal colony. In October 2025, the political analyst was transferred to the Umbaki prison for a one-year term.
According to Samadov’s lawyer, Zibeyda Sadygova, he has serious health issues and suffers from several medical conditions.
In his final statement, Samadov said he has a severe eye condition. He claimed that an expert had concluded that being kept in a confined space had negatively affected his health, including his rapidly deteriorating eyesight.
According to Sadygova, Samadov has repeatedly faced pressure while in detention, including being placed in solitary confinement.
Independent outlet Toplum TV reported that during his speech, Samadov dedicated his remarks to the memory of deceased activists Mehman Galandarov, Bayram Mammadov, and Elbay Karimli.
Opposition activist Galandarov was detained on drug possession charges in February 2017 and committed suicide in April of the same year in a Baku pretrial detention center (SIZO). Karimli was detained in August 2023 after spray-painting the word “Stalin” on a monument to former President Heydar Aliyev. His body was found in December 2025 in Correctional Facility No. 2. Mammadov, along with Giyas Ibrahim, painted graffiti on a monument to Aliyev in May 2016 and was sentenced to 10 years in prison on drug possession charges. After his early release, he moved to Turkey, where he died in May 2021 under circumstances that his friends and relatives considered suspicious.