ASIMKOM Executive Board issued the following statement regarding the European Political Community Summit

Regarding the decision made in advance to hold the next summit in Baku in 2028, following the 8th Summit of the European Political Community held on May 4, 2026, in Yerevan, we consider it necessary to express our position and certain concerns..

ASIMCOM, as the Coordination Centre of Azerbaijani Political Exiles, states that as an organization we support Azerbaijan’s integration into the Euro-Atlantic space, as well as uninterrupted dialogue between Azerbaijan and all European structures, including the European Union, despite all the grave conditions arising from the actions of official Baku. At the same time, we understand very well that at present, in this era of geopolitical confrontations and relentless conflicts, the main priorities for Europe in its relations with Azerbaijan are, regrettably, not human rights and democratic values, but energy supplies, the full activation of the Middle Corridor, and security issues. Nevertheless, we bring to the attention of all international institutions representing democratic Europe, and all European states, that the Azerbaijani AUTHORITIES, which today HAVE FAILED TO FULFILL THE MAJORITY OF THEIR COMMITMENTS TO EUROPEAN DEMOCRATIC INSTITUTIONS, continue in the country to:

•	Maintain severe and systematic political repression;

•	Hold approximately 400 political prisoners;

•	Rank among the lowest in the world for press freedom (171st out of 180 countries);

•	Imprison nearly 40 journalists and media workers solely for their professional activities, 8 of whom are young female journalists.

We also consider it particularly important to note that the majority of political prisoners are individuals who support Azerbaijan’s integration into the Euro-Atlantic space. They have been imprisoned precisely because of their consistent efforts to promote and implement European values in Azerbaijan.

Under such circumstances, in order to ensure that the holding of one of Europe’s highest political platforms in Baku is not perceived as indirectly legitimizing political repression, turning a blind eye to human rights violations, or weakening the position of forces fighting for democracy in Azerbaijani society, we call upon all European institutions and the leaders of leading European states, in the two years remaining before the summit, to pay special attention in their dialogue with official Baku to resolving the following issues:

•	The release of all political prisoners;

•	The immediate release of imprisoned journalists;

•	The cessation of pressure on independent media and civil society.

We hope that, as a result of our joint efforts, in the time remaining before the summit, we will achieve significant progress in all of the above-mentioned areas, particularly on the release of political prisoners. Otherwise, as noted above, the emerging picture will be extremely dangerous and, from a (symbolic) POLITICAL standpoint, deeply harmful. This will deal a blow not only to Azerbaijani society, but to Europe’s own COMMITMENT TO ITS VALUES, ITS POSITION, and its belief in those values.

ASIMCOM believes that European political institutions must recognize this responsibility and transform the Baku summit into an opportunity for real change.

We call upon our European partners to take a principled stance and to genuinely support the struggle of Azerbaijani society for freedom and democracy!