Azerbaijani activist living in France: 'My father in Baku and I have received threats'
Threats against Azerbaijani activist living abroad
Azerbaijani civic activist Ramazan Tagiyev, who lives in France, says he continues to receive threats over posts criticising the authorities on social media. He says the latest messages have also targeted his father, who lives in Baku.
“He said he knows where my father is in Baku”
Tagiyev says that on 3 September, a man named Rashad, who goes by the nickname “Roma”, contacted him again, threatening to beat and kill him. He also said he was currently in the French city of Toulouse and intended to track him down.
Tagiyev says that this time the threats also targeted his father, who lives in Baku:
“Rashad wrote that he knows where my father is in Baku and that he would make sure people found and beat him. The threat against my father is particularly worrying. It shows that the threats are no longer directed only at me but are now extending to my family.”
Threats began in March
The civic activist says the threats began in March 2026 after he started posting material on social media criticising the Azerbaijani government, state projects and prominent public figures.
At the time, he received calls from different unknown numbers as well as threatening messages.
Tagiyev says the situation escalated further in May after he published a critical post about Azerbaijani meykhana performer Rashad Dagly, who is currently serving a prison sentence for murder.
He says people living in Toulouse who, he claims, have links to criminal circles threatened to track him down and “deal with” him.
Fearing for his safety, Tagiyev left Toulouse soon afterwards.
Facebook account blocked after mass complaints
Tagiyev says that in August, following a series of posts about the Cavan TV project and bloggers, his Facebook page was hit by a wave of complaints, after which the account was blocked.
Tagiyev links the attacks on his social media accounts and the threats he received around the same time to his civic activism.
“What is Cavan TV and why did Tagiyev criticise it?”
Cavan TV is a media project run by the CAVAN Youth Movement, a public association targeting a young audience and receiving state support. Some of the movement’s projects receive financial and organisational support from the Youth Foundation of Azerbaijan and the Ministry of Youth and Sports.
Cavan TV is known for covering socially significant events using manipulative techniques. During high-profile events, such as the flooding of Baku after heavy rains, the platform has published material that shifts attention away from the responsibility of state institutions, eases public discontent and redirects the discussion towards secondary issues.
This was the focus of Ramazan Tagiyev’s criticism of Cavan TV.
Claims of links to criminal circles
Tagiyev says he learned about the past of the man who threatened him, Rashad, and his alleged links to criminal circles from Rashad himself.
The activist says Rashad told him that he had served two prison sentences in France and had links to criminal circles.
Tagiyev also claims that Rashad told him that some of the people accused of involvement in an attempted attack on Azerbaijani blogger Mohammed Mirzali, who lives in France, had stayed at his home.
According to the activist, Rashad also told him that he had come to Toulouse after an incident in Germany in which a man was stabbed, and threatened Tagiyev with “the same fate”.
Reported the threats to French police
Ramazan Tagiyev says he reported the threats to the French police. According to him, French law enforcement launched an investigation and located the man who had threatened him.
Jamnews was unable to independently verify Tagiyev’s claims with French law enforcement. The man named in the allegations has not been contacted for comment.
Threats against Azerbaijani activist living abroad
