Attack on Azerbaijani blogger in France: Up to 30-year sentences sought amid claims of political motive

France: Verdict in Azerbaijani blogger case

The verdict delivered on 10 June by the Rennes Assize Court in the case of the attack on Azerbaijani political exile and blogger Muhammad Mirzali has become one of the harshest rulings in France involving violence against political exiles.

Reporters Without Borders (RSF) described the decision as “a strong signal to authoritarian regimes in response to transnational repression in Europe”, saying that the French justice system had demonstrated that such operations on European soil would not go unpunished.

According to RSF’s summary of the ruling, the court explicitly recognised the political motive behind the attack. Mirzali was seen not only as an individual targeted for physical harm, but also as a victim chosen to intimidate other dissidents living in Europe. The organisation described this as a “red line” and called on both France and the European Union to develop a coordinated response to similar cases of transnational repression.

How did the attack happen?

On 14 March 2021, Mirzali was walking in central Nantes when he was approached by six men. The attackers beat him and then stabbed him multiple times in the arms, hands, legs, neck and face. According to investigators, they also attempted to cut out his tongue.

Mirzali suffered 16 to 17 stab wounds and was taken to hospital in a critical condition. Before passers-by came to his aid, he tried to defend himself and managed to call the police. In its 2022 report, the US State Department confirmed details of the attack, noting that the assailants had attempted to cut out his tongue.

It was not the first attempt on Mirzali’s life. In 2020, unidentified attackers had already opened fire on him.

Details of the verdict and tensions in the courtroom

The main defendant, Emin Gasymov, was sentenced to 30 years in prison. Rovshan Gojayev received 25 years, Mehraj Zarbaliyev 18 years, Emin Zamanzade 15 years, and Rza Melikov 13 years. Other defendants were given sentences ranging from five to 15 years, while one accused was acquitted.

The severity of the sentences suggests that the case involved more than a single attacker. Investigators described a broader network whose members moved between different countries and provided logistical support for the operation. AFP also identified Melikov as one of the group’s key logistical coordinators.

One of the most tense moments of the trial came when Gasymov addressed Mirzali directly in court. He said: “There is no justice in France. I will not stay in prison for long,” while criticising the French judicial system and addressing journalists present in the courtroom.

In their ruling, the judges said the purpose of the attack was to silence the blogger by “beheading him in a medieval-style manner” and to send a message to other dissidents living in Europe.

According to the case file, phone conversations and other evidence pointed to links between Gasymov, several other defendants, the state oil company SOCAR, and senior Azerbaijani officials.

In one conversation with his uncle, Gasymov asked him to seek assistance from Azerbaijani Interior Minister Vilayat Eyvazov. He also claimed that he had been instructed not to mention SOCAR in his testimony.

RSF reports published in 2025 and 2026 state that Mirzali was targeted because of his independent journalistic work and his criticism of Azerbaijan’s authoritarian political system and senior figures in the country’s oil and gas sector.

According to court documents reviewed by RSF, testimony presented during the proceedings suggested that “professional killers” had been paid to carry out the attack because Mirzali “spoke badly about the president” and had angered people in positions of power.

Mirzali and life in exile

Muhammad Mirzali emerged from opposition circles linked to the Azerbaijan Popular Front Party. He says he helped organise the “No More Soldier Deaths” campaign, after which he faced persecution and ill-treatment.

In 2015, Mirzali founded the Made in Azerbaijan platform. In subsequent years, RSF described it as a YouTube channel through which he sharply criticised the Azerbaijani authorities. In 2016, he was granted political asylum in France.

Mirzali’s reporting and commentary have focused on alleged government corruption, human rights violations and abuses by senior officials under President Ilham Aliyev. AFP and RSF describe him as a dissident who faced repeated persecution and was unable to find safety even after relocating to France. Following the attack in Nantes on 14 March 2021, in which he suffered multiple stab wounds, his life changed dramatically.

Today, Mirzali lives under round-the-clock police protection at a confidential address, and every movement outside his home is preceded by security precautions. Speaking to AFP, he said he felt “as if I am in prison”, cut off from normal social life and personal relationships. In another interview, he put it even more starkly: “My life is dead.” He says he now lives in almost complete isolation.

The pressure has extended to his family. Intimate videos involving his sister were circulated online in what he says was an attempt to silence him. Stones were thrown at his sister’s home, while his father and brother-in-law also came under pressure. In 2021, the Institute for War and Peace Reporting (IWPR) reported an intensifying campaign of intimidation against Mirzali’s relatives, including the use of intimate material related to his sister as a means of blackmail.

Transnational pressure and the political context

RSF views the case as part of a broader pattern of transnational repression. In its submission to the court in Rennes, the organisation argued that threats, intimidation and violence against journalists and opposition figures living outside Azerbaijan can no longer be regarded as isolated incidents.

Earlier this year, Human Rights Watch also stated that Azerbaijani authorities have used measures such as trials in absentia, criminal prosecutions and even cross-border abductions against critics living in exile.

According to case materials, Mirzali was offered money on three separate occasions in exchange for withdrawing his complaint. The proposed compensation reportedly rose to €1 million and was accompanied by direct threats. For that reason, RSF regards the verdict not merely as the outcome of a criminal trial but as a “red line” in protecting journalists who have received asylum in Europe. The organisation has called on France, the European Union and partner countries to impose targeted sanctions on those who order such operations and to develop a more coordinated legal response to transnational repression.

The clearest official response from Baku came from Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev in an interview with France 24 on 28 September 2021. He rejected allegations that the Azerbaijani authorities were involved in violence against Mirzali or other critics of the government living abroad.

At the same time, RSF’s 2025 report noted that the French court placed particular emphasis on the alleged role of individuals linked to the Azerbaijani authorities and to the circle surrounding the state oil company SOCAR.

The significance of the Rennes verdict extends well beyond the Mirzali case itself. The ruling has been presented as a warning not only to the Azerbaijani authorities but also to other authoritarian governments seeking to silence dissidents in Europe. As both the French court and RSF stressed, the case concerns not only the fate of one blogger, but also the protection of journalists, political exiles and the rule of law across Europe.

France: Verdict in Azerbaijani blogger case