Chairman of the Azerbaijani Popular Front Party (APFP) Ali Karimli has received an invitation to the Warsaw Security Forum.
Karimli himself shared this information.
He stated that the Azerbaijani government has imposed a travel ban on him for many years. He noted that he will appeal to the Prosecutor General’s Office to participate in the forum.
“For nearly 20 years, the authorities have refused to issue me a passport and have banned me from traveling abroad. I will once again appeal to the Prosecutor General’s Office and take another initiative to obtain a passport to participate in the Forum, which will be held on September 29–30,” said Ali Karimli.
The Warsaw Security Forum is an international platform promoting dialogue on security and defense in Europe and the Transatlantic region.
The forum was first established in 2014 in Poland by the Casimir Pulaski Foundation and is held annually in Warsaw.
Its main goals are to discuss the security challenges of Central and Eastern European countries, strengthen cooperation with NATO, and develop collective strategies against global threats.
Each year, the forum brings together over 2,000 participants from more than 90 countries, including government officials, diplomats, experts, and representatives of non-governmental organizations.
One of the forum’s symbolic events is the “Knight of Freedom” award, which is presented to individuals or organizations that contribute to the values of freedom, democracy, and justice.
NATO, Olena Zelenska, and Alexei Navalny are among those who have received this award.
Since 2006, Ali Karimli has been denied a foreign passport and has been effectively banned from leaving the country. Authorities cite a 1994 criminal case in which he was arrested as the reason for refusing to issue the passport. At the time, law enforcement claimed they had found explosives in Karimli’s pocket. However, he was not held in custody for long and described the charges as fabricated.
Karimli has stated that despite exhausting all legal avenues to restore his rights, the issue remains unresolved. According to him, the restriction has harmed both his party’s and his own international relations.
In 2015, the European Court of Human Rights ruled that the travel ban imposed on the APFP chairman constituted a violation of his rights.
