I 
118TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 8141 
To provide for a review of sanctions with respect to Azerbaijan. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
APRIL 26, 2024 
Ms. TITUS (for herself, Mr. BILIRAKIS, Mr. PALLONE, Ms. NORTON, Mr. 
MCCLINTOCK, Ms. SCHAKOWSKY, Mr. GOTTHEIMER, Mrs. BEATTY, Mr. 
CA´RDENAS, Mr. VALADAO, Mr. HORSFORD, Ms. MALLIOTAKIS, Mr. 
COSTA, Mr. AUCHINCLOSS, Ms. MENG, Mr. SCHIFF, Ms. STEVENS, Mr. 
PAPPAS, Ms. LEE of California, Mr. LAWLER, Mr. SARBANES, Ms. LEE 
of Nevada, Mr. AMO, Mr. MENENDEZ, and Mr. SHERMAN) introduced the 
following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs, 
and in addition to the Committee on the Judiciary, for a period to be 
subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration 
of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee con-
cerned 
A BILL 
To provide for a review of sanctions with respect to 
Azerbaijan. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Azerbaijan Sanctions 
Review Act of 2024’’. 
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SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 
Congress finds the following: 
(1) On September 19, 2023, Azerbaijan 
launched a military assault on Nagorno-Karabakh, 
resulting in the forced displacement of the region’s 
entire Armenian population following a 10-month 
blockade of the Lachin Corridor, which deprived Ar-
menian civilians access to food, fuel, medicine and 
other essential goods. 
(2) Azerbaijan’s blockade and forced displace-
ment of Nagorno-Karabakh’s Armenians followed a 
major escalation of the conflict during the 2020 
Nagorno-Karabakh War, during which Azerbaijani 
military and government officials named in section 
2(b) have committed war crimes and serious human 
rights violations, including the extrajudicial killing of 
Armenian civilians and prisoners of war; the arbi-
trary detention, forced disappearances, and torture 
of Armenian civilians and prisoners of war and other 
captives; and the deliberate targeting of civilian pop-
ulations. 
(3) Azerbaijan’s continued detainment, torture, 
extrajudicial execution, and other serious human 
rights violations against prisoners of war and cap-
tured civilians calls into serious question their com-
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mitment to human rights and ability to negotiate an 
equitable, lasting peace settlement. 
(4) Reporting conducted in September 2022 by 
the United Nations Committee on the Elimination of 
Racial Discrimination expressed deep concern over 
‘‘[a]llegations of severe and grave human rights vio-
lations committed during the 2020 hostilities and 
beyond by Azerbaijani military forces against pris-
oners of war and other protected persons of Arme-
nian 
ethnic 
or 
national 
origin—including 
extrajudicial killings, torture and other ill-treatment 
and arbitrary detention’’. 
(5) The Department of State’s Country Reports 
on Human Rights Practices released in April 2024 
documented ‘‘credible reports of: unlawful or arbi-
trary killing; torture and cruel, inhuman, or degrad-
ing treatment or punishment by members of the se-
curity forces; harsh and sometimes life-threatening 
prison conditions; arbitrary detention;’’ and other 
concerns regarding the lack of due process in Azer-
baijani 
trials 
of 
Armenian 
civilians 
and 
servicemembers. 
(6) Human rights organizations have consist-
ently reported on Azerbaijan’s abuse of prisoners of 
war and other human rights violations, including a 
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report by Human Rights Watch in March 2021 that 
found Azerbaijani forces had abused ethnic Arme-
nian prisoners of war and subjected them to ‘‘cruel 
and degrading treatment and torture either when 
they were captured, during their transfer, or while 
in custody at various detention facilities’’. 
(7) In December 2021, an International Court 
of Justice ruling ordered Azerbaijan to protect from 
violence and bodily harm Armenians detained during 
and since the 2020 Nagorno-Karabakh War. 
(8) At least 90 prisoners of war and hostages 
are still detained illegally by Azerbaijan as of No-
vember 2023 according to the Armenian Govern-
ment, with independent observers noting that the 
true number of detainees is likely much higher given 
the many individuals still missing, and the limited 
information available due to Azerbaijan’s misrepre-
sentation of their status in an attempt to justify 
their continued captivity. 
(9) Following Azerbaijan’s offensive in 2023, 
numerous 
high-ranking 
Armenian 
officials 
in 
Nagorno-Karabakh were arrested and detained by 
Azerbaijan, including Ruben Vardanyan, Davit 
Manukyan, Davit Babayan, Levon Mnatsakanyan, 
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Arkadi 
Ghukasyan, 
Bako 
Sahakyan, 
Arayik 
Harutyunyan, and Davit Ishkhanyan. 
(10) International humanitarian law requires 
parties to an international armed conflict to treat 
prisoners of war humanely in all circumstances. 
(11) It is a war crime to willfully kill, mistreat, 
or torture prisoners of war, or to willfully cause 
great suffering or serious injury to body or health. 
(12) In addition to being bound by customary 
international law, Azerbaijan is a party to the Gene-
va Conventions, the International Covenant on Civil 
and Political Rights (ICCPR), and the European 
Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) which strict-
ly forbid extrajudicial killings. 
(13) Despite its international legal obligations 
under the Geneva Conventions and repeated calls by 
the United States Government, Azerbaijan has not 
released all relevant persons and instead continues 
to detain new prisoners of war, hostages, and cap-
tured civilians, nor have those responsible for serious 
human rights violations and war crimes faced legal 
consequences. 
(14) Azerbaijan’s brutal repression of domestic 
political opposition is of grave concern for the 
human rights of Azerbaijanis. 
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(15) The detention and subsequent torture and 
ill-treatment of opposition leaders, activists, and crit-
ics of the Aliyev government like Dr. Gubad 
Ibadoghlu, a prominent scholar who taught in the 
United States and was recently released to house ar-
rest, raises fundamental concerns about due process 
and the integrity of the legal proceedings against 
him and others who express political dissent in Azer-
baijan. 
(16) On March 6, 2024, Azerbaijani authorities 
detained six journalists in Baku and accused them 
of unfounded smuggling charges as part of an ongo-
ing crackdown on independent media in Azerbaijan. 
(17) Azerbaijan is designated as ‘‘Not Free’’ by 
Freedom House due to the absence of political 
rights, civil liberties, and rule of law. 
SEC. 3. REVIEW OF SANCTIONS WITH RESPECT TO AZER-
BAIJAN. 
(a) DETERMINATION.—Not later than 180 days after 
the date of the enactment of this Act, the President shall 
submit to the appropriate congressional committees a de-
termination, including a detailed justification, of whether 
any person listed in subsection (b) meets the criteria for 
the imposition of sanctions pursuant to— 
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(9) Orhan Samadov, Office of the General Pros-
ecutor. 
(10) Vugar Guliyev, Office of the General Pros-
ecutor. 
(11) Ziya Masurov, Office of the General Pros-
ecutor. 
(12) Parviz Mirhashimov, Office of the General 
Prosecutor. 
(13) Babakhan Hasanaliyev, Office of the Gen-
eral Prosecutor. 
(14) Hamza Eldar Akbar oglu, Office of the 
General Prosecutor. 
(15) Alakbarov Valeh Hasan oglu, Office of the 
General Prosecutor. 
(16) Faiq Qaniyev, Judge at Baku Court on 
Grave Crimes. 
(17) Mirza Khankishiyev, Judge at Baku Court 
on Grave Crimes. 
(18) Ilham Mahmudov, Judge at Baku Court 
on Grave Crimes. 
(19) Eldar Ismayilov, Judge at Baku Court on 
Grave Crimes. 
(20) Javid Huseynov, Judge at Baku Court on 
Grave Crimes. 
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(21) Samir Aliyev, Judge at Baku Court on 
Grave Crimes. 
(22) Azad Madjidov, Judge at Baku Court on 
Grave Crimes. 
(23) Zeynal Agayev, Judge at Baku Court on 
Grave Crimes. 
(24) Sabuhi Huseynov, Judge at Baku Court 
on Grave Crimes. 
(25) Afgan Hajiyev, Judge at Baku Court on 
Grave Crimes. 
(26) Telman Huseynov, Judge at Baku Court 
on Grave Crimes. 
(27) Ali Mammadov, Judge at Baku Court on 
Grave Crimes. 
(28) Vusal Gurbanov, Narimanov District 
Court Judge. 
(29) Kamranov Hafiz, Narimanov District 
Court Judge. 
(30) Yusif Yusifov, Chief Investigator of the In-
vestigation Department for Combating Organized 
Crime, Ministry of Internal Affairs. 
(31) Abbasov Mirzali Abdulali oglu, Baku Court 
of Appeals. 
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(32) Major General Abulfat Rzayev, Main Or-
ganized Crime Department, Ministry of Internal Af-
fairs. 
(33) Mammadov Elchin, First Deputy Pros-
ecutor General. 
(34) Lieutenant Fuad Rafael oglu Nabiyev, 
Azerbaijan Ministry of Defence. 
(35) Elchin Guliyev, State Border Service of 
Azerbaijan. 
(36) Ilham Mehdiyev, State Border Service of 
Azerbaijan. 
(37) Vusal Sultanov, State Border Service of 
Azerbaijan. 
(38) Azad Alakbarov, State Border Service of 
Azerbaijan. 
(39) Ismayil Akbarov, State Border Service of 
Azerbaijan. 
(40) Ramin Bagirov, State Border Service of 
Azerbaijan. 
(41) Lieutenant Colonel Elgu¨n Aliyev, Military 
Police Department of the Ministry of Defence. 
(42) Karim Valiyev, Chief of the General Staff 
of the Azerbaijani Armed Forces. 
(43) Nemat Avazov, Director of the Investiga-
tion Department, Office of the Prosecutor General. 
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(44) Tagiyev Azer Heydar oglu, Nasimi District 
Court Judge. 
(c) APPROPRIATE CONGRESSIONAL COMMITTEES DE-
FINED.—In this Act, the term ‘‘appropriate congressional 
committees’’ means— 
(1) the Committee on Foreign Relations, Com-
mittee on Appropriations, and the Committee on 
Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs of the Senate; 
and 
(2) the Committee on Foreign Affairs, Com-
mittee on Appropriations, and the Committee on Fi-
nancial Services of the House of Representatives. 
Æ 
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