Jamil Hasanli is banned from leaving Azerbaijan.

Jamil Hasanli, chairman of the opposition National Council of Democratic Forces of Azerbaijan, has been banned from leaving the country. He has been summoned as a witness in the investigation into the case of Ali Karimli, leader of the Popular Front Party of Azerbaijan.

As reported by the "Caucasian Knot," on November 29, after searches, State Security Service officers detained Ali Karimli, leader of the Popular Front Party of Azerbaijan (PFPA), his advisor and PFPA presidium member Mammad Ibrahim, and several other activists. The party called the detentions politically motivated, assessing them as an attempt by the authorities to "destroy the last independent political force in Azerbaijan." Gultekin Hajibeyli, a member of the Coordination Center of the National Council of Democratic Forces (NCDF) of Azerbaijan, was detained in Turkey on the night of November 30, a representative of the PFPA told a Caucasian Knot correspondent.

Hasanli was prevented from flying from Baku to Dubai on November 30. As Hasanli told a Caucasian Knot correspondent, his trip was previously planned to meet with relatives.

According to him, on November 7, he purchased plane tickets for November 30; he planned to fly to Dubai with his wife to visit their daughter and grandchildren.

"We immediately bought a return ticket for December 15. After yesterday's events (the arrest of the leader of the Popular Front Party of Azerbaijan, Ali Karimli - ed. "Caucasian Knot"), I assumed that they would impose a stop sign on me. And that's what happened. They didn't let me out. I saw my wife off and returned from the airport," Hasanli said.

Hasanli also declared the innocence of previously detained opposition figures Ali Karimli and Gultekin Hajibeyli, pointing out the falsehood of claims of their ties to former head of the State Security Service, Ramiz Mehdiyev.

Law enforcement agencies were unable to comment.

As a reminder, in 2024, the number of political prisoners in Azerbaijan exceeded 300 for the first time since the early 2000s. In October 2025, the Union for Freedom of Political Prisoners in Azerbaijan published a new national list of political prisoners, including 392 names.

The largest increase in prisoners occurred over the past year, according to the "Caucasian Knot" report "Key Points About the Record Number of Political Prisoners in Azerbaijan." At the same time, the Azerbaijani authorities deny the presence of political prisoners in the country.