Economist Fazil Gasimov and investigative journalist Hafiz Babali, both prominent political prisoners in Azerbaijan, have addressed an open letter to UN Secretary-General António Guterres. This appeal, published on behalf of the Committee for the Defense of Political Prisoners ahead of the 13th session of the UN World Urban Forum, aims to draw global attention to the grave human rights situation in Azerbaijan.

Akhmed Balkarov, a native of Kabardino-Balkaria, was transferred from Penal Colony No. 4 in the Penza Region. He had previously complained of religious persecution and systematic penalties. The Federal Penitentiary Service later decided to transfer him to a psychiatric facility. The prisoner's mother insists there are no supporting documents or justifications for this decision.

The mother of Akhmed Balkarov, who is serving a sentence in Correctional Colony No. 4 in the Penza Region, contacted the Kabardino-Balkarian Human Rights Center. She alleged that her son was subjected to ethnic and religious discrimination by the prison administration. He was repeatedly forbidden to practice Islam.

As the second anniversary of the arrest of human rights activist Anar Mammadli approaches, Azadeh Rojan, the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) General Rapporteur on political prisoners, called on Azerbaijan to release him. Rojan stated that the numerous charges, according to PACE, are retaliatory measures for Mammadli's civic activism, independent election monitoring, and cooperation with international organizations.

Nearly three dozen Armenian human rights and civil society organizations have sent an open letter to European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and European Council President António Costa calling for the release of Armenian prisoners held in Baku. The letter was published on the eve of the 8th European Political Community Summit and the Armenia-European Union meeting, scheduled to take place in Armenia.

Elman Abdullaev, a veteran of the Ukrainian conflict and a native of North Ossetia, failed to obtain a review of his sentence in a fraud case. Following a ruling by a court in Vladikavkaz, the Southern District Military Court upheld his two-year prison sentence on charges of bribery.

The Committee for the Protection of the Rights of Ali Karimli expressed strong protest on the occasion of the 61st birthday of the leader of the Popular Front Party of Azerbaijan (PFPA), which the politician is celebrating in the pretrial detention facility of the State Security Service. The human rights activists accused the authorities of exerting pressure on Karimli for years, including the revocation of his passport and periodic arrests.

The Chechen opposition movement NIYSO announced the arrest and subsequent deployment to Ukraine of three young men from the village of Tangi-chu in the Urus-Martan district of the Chechen Republic. Fellow villagers reportedly asked for prayers for them.

The Tagansky Court of Moscow acquitted Pavel Gubarev, the former "people's governor" of the Donetsk region, of "discrediting the army." The decision was based on the lack of evidence of a violation.

Yulia Volkova, a professor at Ural Federal University in Yekaterinburg, found herself at the center of a scandal over offensive remarks directed at an Azerbaijani child. After photos of her former student Rashad Agayev's family were published, she called his daughter "ugly" and made derogatory remarks about the appearance of children in Azerbaijani families.