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 
3(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-
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 
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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 August 2025 
documented ‘‘credible reports of: arbitrary or unlaw-
ful killings; torture or cruel, inhuman, or degrading 
treatment or punishment; arbitrary arrest and de-
tention; transnational repression against individuals 
in another country,’’ and notes that ‘‘the govern-
ment [of Azerbaijan] did not take credible steps or 
action to identify and punish officials who committed 
human rights abuses.’’. 
(6) Human rights organizations have consist-
ently reported on Azerbaijan’s abuse of prisoners of 
war and other human rights violations, including a 
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 
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they were captured, during their transfer, or while 
in custody at various detention facilities’’. 
(7) Reporting conducted in 2024 by Freedom 
House found that the Government of Azerbaijan 
‘‘acted upon a comprehensive, methodically imple-
mented strategy to empty Nagorno-Karabakh of its 
ethnic Armenian population between 2020 and 
2023’’ and engaged in a ‘‘pattern of arbitrary deten-
tion, torture, and ill-treatment of Armenians who fell 
into Azerbaijani custody.’’. 
(8) 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. 
(9) At least 23 prisoners of war and hostages 
are still detained illegally by Azerbaijan as of August 
2025 according to the Armenian Government, with 
independent observers noting that the true number 
of detainees is likely much higher given the many in-
dividuals still missing, and the limited information 
available due to Azerbaijan’s misrepresentation of 
their status in an attempt to justify their continued 
captivity. 
(10) Following Azerbaijan’s offensive in 2023, 
numerous 
high-ranking 
Armenian 
officials 
in 
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Nagorno-Karabakh were arrested and detained by 
Azerbaijan, including Ruben Vardanyan, Davit 
Manukyan, Davit Babayan, Levon Mnatsakanyan, 
Arkadi 
Ghukasyan, 
Bako 
Sahakyan, 
Arayik 
Harutyunyan, and Davit Ishkhanyan. 
(11) In January 2025, Azerbaijan commenced 
sham trials of the aforementioned former officials of 
Nagorno-Karabakh in Baku’s military court, where 
detainees have been denied due process, the right to 
a fair trial, the right to legal counsel of their own 
choosing, and have been charged on political grounds 
without evidence and in the absence of independent 
observers. 
(12) In March 2025, Azerbaijan ordered the 
International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), 
the only entity in Azerbaijan with the authorization 
to visit Armenian prisoners of war and civilian cap-
tives, to leave the country. 
(13) International humanitarian law requires 
parties to an international armed conflict to treat 
prisoners of war humanely in all circumstances. 
(14) 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. 
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(15) 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. 
(16) 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. 
(17) Following the publication of the terms of 
the initialed peace agreement between Armenia and 
Azerbaijan in August 2025, it was confirmed the 
document omits provisions to ensure the release of 
Armenian prisoners of war or civilian captives, rais-
ing concerns as to Azerbaijan’s commitment to en-
suring a just, durable, and dignified peace in the re-
gion. 
(18) Amid fraught peace talks between Armenia 
and Azerbaijan, the immediate and unconditional re-
lease of Armenian prisoners of war, civilians, and 
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political detainees would represent an important con-
fidence building measure. 
(19) In addition to its arbitrary detention of 
Armenian prisoners, Azerbaijan also has also unlaw-
fully detained over 300 Azerbaijani journalists, 
human rights defenders, civic activists and opposi-
tion figures, with Azerbaijani authorities escalating 
civil society crackdowns in the months leading up to 
the COP29 Climate Summit in November 2024. 
(20) Azerbaijan’s brutal repression of domestic 
political opposition is of grave concern for the 
human rights of Azerbaijanis. 
(21) The detention and subsequent torture and 
ill-treatment of journalists like Radio Free Europe/ 
Radio Liberty reporter Farid Mehralizada, critics of 
the Aliyev government like Dr. Gubad Ibadoghlu, 
and human rights advocates like Rufat Safarov, 
raises fundamental concerns about due process and 
the integrity of the legal proceedings against those 
who express political dissent in Azerbaijan. 
(22) Azerbaijan is designated as ‘‘Not Free’’ by 
Freedom House due to the absence of political 
rights, civil liberties, and rule of law. 
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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— 
(1) section 1263(b) of the Global Magnitsky 
Human Rights Accountability Act (22 U.S.C. 2656 
note); or 
(2) section 7031(c) of the National Security, 
Department of State, and Related Programs Appro-
priations Act. 
(b) PERSONS LISTED.—The persons listed in this 
subsection, which includes officials of Republic of Azer-
baijan, are the following: 
(1) Lieutenant General Hikmat Izzat oglu 
Mirzayev, Commander of the Special Forces. 
(2) Lieutenant Colonel Elgun Aliyev, Chief of 
the Military Police. 
(3) Colonel Elshan Sanaev, Commander of Az-
erbaijani Military 218th Commando Brigade. 
(4) Lieutenant General Anvar Afandiyev, Com-
mander of Azerbaijani Ground Forces. 
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(5) Major General Jeyhun Hasanov, Peniten-
tiary Service of the Ministry of Justice. 
(6) Ali Naghiyev, Chief of the State Security 
Services. 
(7) Samir Nuriyev, Chief of Staff to President 
Aliyev. 
(8) Fuad Alasgarov, Assistant to the President 
for Law Enforcement and Military Affairs. 
(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. 
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(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. 
(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. 
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(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. 
(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 Defense. 
(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. 
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(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. 
(44) Tagiyev Azer Heydar oglu, Nasimi District 
Court Judge. 
(45) Ali Hasanov, Head of the Department for 
Public and Political Issues. 
(46) Mehman Ahmadov, Director of State Secu-
rity Service Investigative Isolator and Temporary 
Detention Facility in Baku. 
(47) Major General Hikmat Hasanov, Com-
mander of the 1st Army Corps of Azerbaijan. 
(48) Kamran Aliyev, Prosecutor General. 
(49) Ulviyya Shukuruvo, Baku City Sabail Dis-
trict Court Judge. 
(50) Elnur Ismayilov, Deputy of Baku Inves-
tigative Detention Center. 
(51) Major General Mais Barkhudarov, Com-
mander of the 1st Army Corps of Azerbaijan. 
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(52) Major General Zaur Sabir Memmedov, 
Deputy Head of Azerbaijan’s Special Forces. 
(53) Colonel Tehran Mensimov, Commander of 
the Nakhichevan Army’s Special Forces. 
(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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