Letter-writing marathon in support of our PhD student Bahruz Samadov

Join the letter-writing marathon in support of our PhD student Bahruz Samadov, convicted for his critical stances towards the regime in his native Azerbaijan. The event will take place on Tuesday, December 2, 2025 from 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. at the Jinonice Campus and in the Hollar Building. The letter-writing marathon will be officially opened in the Jinonice Campus at 9:10 a.m. by Tomáš Karásek, FSV UK Dean.

The event is partnered by the international organization Amnesty International, which in its urgent appeal calls on the general public to actively participate and write to the President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev to demand the immediate and unconditional release of Bahruz Samadov and his colleague Igbal Abilov.

Bahruz Samadov joined the faculty in 2019 as a PhD student in Political Science at the Institute of Political Studies FSV UK. He has long been critical of the current political situation in Azerbaijan and has repeatedly commented on events in his native country for domestic and foreign media. Due to his critical stances towards the regime, he was detained by the State Security Service in August last year while in Azerbaijan. In June this year, the authorities there sentenced him to 15 years in prison on trumped-up charges of “treason.” Bahruz categorically denies all charges and has gone on a hunger strike to protest the proposed sentence. According to his grandmother, he attempted suicide in a detention facility this summer.

His case has been highlighted by organizations dedicated to the protection of human rights and academic freedoms from the beginning. For example, the Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders appealed for his release; the independent think-tank Baku Research Institute examined his case in a detailed analysis of the verdict. Amnesty International has been regularly reporting on the progress of the trial since the beginning. In its appeals, it emphasizes the politically motivated nature of the charges and the unfair procedural practices of the Azerbaijani authorities.

The event will take place under the leadership of the Social and Ethical Commission of the Academic Senate of the Faculty of Social Sciences, Charles University in cooperation with student clubs, faculty management, and the leadership of the Faculty Academic Senate in communication with Bahruz Samadov's consultant, Nico Carpentier.