Azerbaijan has been ranked as having the second-highest prison population rate in Europe, amid growing concerns over systemic corruption, torture, and a failure to rehabilitate inmates, according to a Council of Europe report.
The Council of Europe (CoE) annual “Space I” report for 2025, which evaluates 51 prison administrations across the continent, classified the country’s penal system as “near-saturated” due to severe overcrowding.
Independent monitors and former inmates warn that a lack of systemic reform is turning the country’s correctional facilities into breeding grounds for repeat offenders, a phenomenon known as recidivism.
Critics argue the state is failing in its legal obligations to prepare prisoners for life after release, leaving them vulnerable to poverty and police exploitation.
According to international human rights monitors, Azerbaijani prisons focus primarily on punishment rather than rehabilitation.
The European Committee for the Prevention of Torture (CPT) noted during its monitoring visits that Azerbaijani authorities do not provide individualised reform plans or risk assessments for inmates.
“The delegation noted, similarly to the previous inspection, that the approach to prisoners is based on punishment plans rather than individual needs and risk assessment,” the CPT stated in its December 2022 report on Azerbaijan. It added that preparation for release was “practically at zero level”.
Although domestic regulations stipulate that first-time offenders must be housed separately from repeat offenders, experts say these rules are routinely ignored in practice.
Instead, cell placement is reportedly determined by an inmate’s financial resources and social standing within the prison hierarchy, cementing a criminal subculture.
Research suggests that economic hardship and a lack of education are the primary drivers of reoffending in Azerbaijan. Many former prisoners find themselves unable to secure employment due to the social stigma of a criminal record.
“I could not find a job anywhere,” one repeat offender, who served time for illegally distributing psychotropic substances, said. “Once you fall in here, it is like a black hole that pulls you back every time.”
This economic exclusion is exacerbated by a lack of state-sponsored reintegration programmes. Criminologists identify the first six months following release as the highest-risk period for recidivism.
Without access to housing, employment, or psychological support, many former inmates feel they have no choice but to return to crime.
“I have no home to stay in on the outside,” a 54-year-old inmate, who has spent 26 years of his life behind symbolical bars, said. “It is hard to survive on the outside. You need to earn money, but with a criminal record, that is impossible. I feel more comfortable in prison.”
The rise in repeat offences is also linked to what critics call the collapse of the country’s judicial independence.
Former inmates allege that the legal system is heavily reliant on bribery, with a network of “broker lawyers” acting as intermediaries between defendants and judges.
“No one in prison talks about proving their innocence or receiving a fair trial,” an inmate serving a second sentence said. “The conversation is entirely about finding a ‘good judge’ and a broker lawyer to negotiate a bribe.”
In these instances, a “good judge” does not refer to an impartial arbiter, but rather one who is willing to accept bribes to reduce charges, hand down suspended sentences, or approve house arrest.
Legal observers say the rarity of acquittal verdicts in Azerbaijani courts reflects an authoritarian legal culture where admitting law enforcement errors is discouraged.
Unlike Azerbaijan’s punitive model, countries such as Norway, Switzerland, and Finland maintain some of the lowest recidivism rates globally by prioritising human dignity and gradual social reintegration.
These European models utilise small-group housing, vocational training, and robust probation services to assist inmates in transitioning back into public life.
While Azerbaijan officially lists conditional release, pardons, and amnesty as tools to combat reoffending, international reports suggest the country’s probation system remains severely underfunded and ineffective.
“The fundamental question of justice should not be ‘what punishment does the criminal deserve?’ but rather ‘what was broken and how can we repair it?'” a local criminologist, who wished to remain anonymous, said.
“Unfortunately, Azerbaijani prisons do not reform. They lay the groundwork for new crimes.”The article was shared by the “Voice of Ulviyya Ali” page. We present the text as it is:According to the Council of Europe’s official 2025 “Space I” report, which covers 51 prison systems across the continent, Azerbaijan ranks second in Europe for its prison population. In terms of this indicator, Azerbaijan is categorized among the countries whose prisons are operating “close to full capacity.”
The number of individuals imprisoned more than once in these penitentiaries is too high to be ignored. This phenomenon is called recidivism—meaning that a person commits a crime, serves their sentence, and then commits a crime again. However, justifying this phenomenon simply by claiming that the individual is “rotten” can lead to the state evading its own responsibilities.
Questions such as “Is prison a successful model for rehabilitation?” and “Is state policy taking sufficient steps to prevent this?” compel us to reflect deeply on this issue.
According to research, one of the primary causes of recidivism is a lack of education and financial hardship. Most of the repeat offenders I spoke with also attribute their situation to poverty:
“I couldn’t find a job no matter what I did. In the end, I started illegally selling psychotropic substances to cancer patients and got arrested. Once you fall in here, it pulls you back in every single time, like a black hole.” — A male inmate serving his second sentence.
Another primary cause of recidivism appears to be the use of prisons as a means of punishment rather than rehabilitation. International reports also state that Azerbaijani prisons do not employ an individualized approach to inmates and fail to create customized rehabilitation plans.
The European Committee for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CPT) found that this mechanism was non-existent during its 2022 monitoring visit. The crux of the matter is that the exact same issue had been identified during the 2020 monitoring.
“The delegation noted, similar to the previous visit, that the approach to prisoners was based on sentence plans rather than individual needs and risk assessments, and that preparation for release was virtually non-existent,” — CPT Report, Azerbaijan, December 2022.
According to Article 5.10 of the Internal Disciplinary Rules of Investigative Detention Facilities, detained individuals are to be placed in cells taking into account their age, gender, prior convictions, and health status.
Article 5.11.3 of the same rules states that first-time offenders must be kept separate from individuals who have previously served prison sentences.
In practice, however, these provisions are not observed. Instead, focus is placed on the inmate’s financial status and whether the other prisoners in the designated cell will accept them. This further proves the absence of an individualized approach.
Social Adaptation Challenges
Inmates express that they face severe integration challenges back in society.
“This is my third imprisonment, and prison hasn’t rehabilitated me at all. On the contrary, it has made me even more prone to crime. After getting out of prison, everything felt so difficult. I couldn’t find a common language with my family; wherever I turned, I felt like I was making a mistake.” — A male inmate speaking about his struggles in freedom.
World-renowned psychologist Albert Bandura, the founder of social learning theory, states that human behavior is largely shaped under the influence of the social environment. Drawing from his concept, the perception of “norms” changes for a person who interacts deeply with the criminal subculture in prison. Upon release, they often return to that same environment because they have no other.
“Whenever I talked to someone on the outside, I couldn’t find anyone I could relate to. I had been in prison for a long time; after getting out, I started living by the rules of the criminal world. No one understood me on the outside. But in prison, there were many people like me. I commanded respect among them. Out here, though, I can’t find my place.” — A male inmate serving his third sentence.
The Impact of Torture and Ill-Treatment
Torture and ill-treatment are among the factors that render rehabilitation impossible. You are subjected to this behavior from the very day of your arrest in police facilities, and the prison completes the chain. An atmosphere of impunity is a sufficient—and indeed the most critical—reason for breaking the cycle of rehabilitation.
The continuous degradation of human dignity destroys any desire or sense of change within the individual.
Legal Guarantees
“I was arrested a second time, completely innocent. But once you get registered under a certain article for a specific crime, that label sticks to you. When you are accused of the same crime a second time, even if you are innocent, you can’t convince anyone. To prevent this, investigative bodies must operate fairly, and their activities must be strictly monitored.” — A female inmate serving her second prison sentence.
There is also a significant number of repeat offenders who claim they were framed. While some admit to committing their previous crimes, they resolutely deny the current charges. Looking at the indictments, the sheer volume of procedural violations lends credibility to this claim.
People who have been imprisoned are not only “branded” by society but also end up on the blacklists of law enforcement agencies. In countries with weak legal guarantees like Azerbaijan, such individuals become ideal candidates to serve as “scapegoats.”
“I often heard that when someone ends up at the police station, they are confronted with the demand to ‘give us someone’ [implicate someone else]. Giving someone up was a safeguard against arrest. And that targeted person had to be wealthy so that the police could shake them down. As life would have it, I became one of those people. They threatened me through my family to record a confession video. I couldn’t bring myself to hand someone over or sell someone out.” — A male inmate serving his fourth sentence.
The Decline of Justice
It shouldn’t come as much of a surprise that individuals commit crimes repeatedly, because the justice system in Azerbaijan has been completely decimated. During my time in prison, I have never heard anyone say, “I am innocent, I will prove it in court and get acquitted,” or “I will try never to end up here again.” For over a year in prison, these are the only words I have encountered: “To settle a case, you need a ‘broker lawyer’ and a ‘good judge.'”
A “broker lawyer” is a “defender” who settles financial (bribe) arrangements to negotiate the client’s case with the judge. Do not misunderstand the term “good judge”—it does not refer to a judge who delivers a fair verdict. It refers to a judge who is approachable and names a sum that won’t make your jaw drop. Bribes are spent to secure the absolute minimum sentence under a charge, to reclassify the charge to a lighter clause, or to obtain options like a suspended sentence or house arrest.
In practice, acquittals are extremely rare. This is because in authoritarian regimes, admitting to the flaws of law enforcement agencies disrupts “dictatorial perfectionism.”
If a person commits a crime, they do not think about rehabilitation. Their entire mind is consumed with desperately trying to scrounge up money, searching for a “good judge” and a “broker lawyer.” An interesting nuance is that the numbers of these broker lawyers can be found in the phone book of almost every incarcerated person. Inmates share their contact details directly from hand to hand.
I do not believe prison is an effective deterrent against crime. People have been so desensitized by lack of education and illiteracy that when they enter prison, they feel as though they are stripping off all their rights like a garment, surrendering themselves entirely to this rotten system.
The Transition to Freedom
“After spending 8 years and 6 months in prison, I was released. I felt like a stranger to everyone. My peers and those around me had achieved things in life, while I was running in place. Society was trying to ‘spit me out’ like a foreign object. I couldn’t endure it for long, and I returned to prison.” — A male inmate serving his second sentence.
In criminology, the first 6 months following release is identified as the period carrying the highest risk of recidivism. If an individual has access to housing, employment, social support, and psychological aid during this time, the likelihood of reoffending decreases drastically. In Azerbaijan, however, there is no sustainable state support for this. A person released from prison is simply left to their fate.
“I have no home to stay in on the outside, and only my brother is alive from my family. I feel more comfortable in prison. Being outside is painful; you need to earn money, which is impossible with a criminal record. I can make ends meet more easily in prison—I know how everything works here.” — A 54-year-old male inmate who has spent 26 years of his life behind bars.
There are no transparent statistics on recidivism in Azerbaijan. Globally, only 33 countries maintain databases on recidivism, and the lack of such data makes combating this phenomenon near impossible.
Alternative Forms of Punishment
For minor offenses, instead of incarceration, measures such as fines, community service, suspended sentences, and specifically rehabilitation for drug offenders are recommended.
In cases examined against Azerbaijan (such as the cases of Farhad Aliyev v. Azerbaijan, Allahverdiyev v. Azerbaijan, and the Anar Mammadli group, among others), the European Court of Human Rights notes that pre-trial detention is applied with excessive intensity in Azerbaijan. The Court recommends utilizing lighter restrictive measures instead, as detention should always be a last resort.
Norway, Switzerland, and Finland are countries with some of the lowest recidivism rates in the world. The model in these countries is built on human dignity. They utilize a system of small groups designed to prepare inmates for transition to freedom, aiming to develop their vocational and social skills. In Azerbaijan, although parole, pardons, amnesties, and the probation system are presented as methods for combating recidivism, reports from international bodies expose severe flaws within the system.
The Establishment of Justice
Criminologists also emphasize that the primary question regarding crime should not be “what punishment should the criminal receive?” but rather “what was broken, and how can it be restored?” Unfortunately, Azerbaijani prisons do not rehabilitate; instead, they pave the way for new crimes to be committed, because the country’s penitentiary system is structured entirely around the logic of retribution. This is fundamentally alien to the philosophy of rehabilitation.
Our observations in prison indicate that rehabilitation is not a priority for an authoritarian state. Former convicts are already deemed useless to society. In the eyes of authoritarian regimes, broken, subservient individuals whose personalities have been erased are far easier to control.