Police in Azerbaijani have arrested prominent human rights activist Rufat Safarov and are charging him with fraud and hooliganism, according to friends and relatives. 

Safarov, the director of the rights group Defense Line, was one of the last human rights defenders still active in Azerbaijan, until his arrest on December 3. He was supposed to travel to the United States later in December to accept a Global Human Rights Defender Award from US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken.

“I would like to state from the outset that the accusation is completely libelous and slanderous and is related to my activities as a human rights defender,” Safarov said in a message transmitted via his friends and posted on social media. “I am happy to defend political prisoners and prisoners of conscience. My request to the public is to devote more time to their defense.”

The Ministry of Internal Affairs told Voice of America that Safarov was arrested because of a conflict involving him and another individual regarding an alleged real estate dispute, adding that an official investigation had been opened. Safarov’s mother stated that the dispute is fictitious, as her son does not have title to any land. 

The activist’s father, Eldar Sabiroğlu, indicated the detention was specifically timed to prevent Safarov from traveling to the United States, adding that his son had received his visa from the US embassy shortly before being taken into custody.

“The man [Safarov] is not a criminal, he was detained because of his professional activities,” Sabiroğlu said.

Safarov was also arrested in 2016 on charges of bribery and sentenced to a nine-year prison term. In 2019, he was set free under a presidential amnesty. 

State Department spokesman Vedant Patel said the United States is closely monitoring Safarov’s case.

“It is imperative that human rights defenders everywhere are able to conduct their work without hindrance and free from fear of retribution,” Patel stated. “And we continue to urge Azerbaijan to release all of those unjustly detained and to cease its crackdown on civil society, including human rights defenders and journalists.”

Safarov’s arrest comes on the heels of a crackdown on the opposition Popular Front Party. Starting in late November, three prominent party figures were arrested separately on administrative charges that carry penalties ranging from 15 to 25 days in jail. 

And on December 2, aBaku court fined party leader Ali Karimli 1,500 manats (about $880) for a slander offense. Prior to the proceedings, police broke up a rally in support of Karimli outside the courthouse, with a few of the protesters receiving administrative detention and others being fined.