The Long Arm of Baku? Trial on Attempted Murder of Azerbaijani Dissident Reaches Crucial Phase

Before the special jury court in Rennes, a sensational trial is drawing to a close. The French prosecution is demanding 30 years imprisonment for the main defendant in the attempted murder case of Azerbaijani blogger and regime critic Mahammad Mirzali. The case raises questions that go far beyond the criminal responsibility of the defendants: it concerns the protection of political refugees in Europe and the increasing danger of cross-border repression by authoritarian states. The attack took place in March 2021 in Nantes. Mirzali, who has been living in France for ...