119-hr5369

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 5369 Introduced in House

    (IH) ]

<DOC>

119th CONGRESS
 1st Session
 H. R. 5369

 To provide for a review of sanctions with respect to Azerbaijan.

_______________________________________________________________________

 IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

 September 15, 2025

 Ms. Titus introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
 Committee on Foreign Affairs, and in addition to the Committee on the 
 Judiciary, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, 
 in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the 
 jurisdiction of the committee concerned

_______________________________________________________________________

 A BILL

 To provide for a review of sanctions with respect to Azerbaijan.

 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

 This Act may be cited as the ``Azerbaijan Sanctions Review Act of 
2025''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

 Congress finds the following:

    (1) On September 19, 2023, Azerbaijan launched a military 
 assault on Nagorno-Karabakh, resulting in the forced 
 displacement of the region's entire Armenian population 
 following a 10-month blockade of the Lachin Corridor, which 
 deprived Armenian civilians access to food, fuel, medicine and 
 other essential goods.

    (2) Azerbaijan's blockade and forced displacement of 
 Nagorno-Karabakh's Armenians followed a major escalation of the 
 conflict during the 2020 Nagorno-Karabakh War, during which 
 Azerbaijani military and government officials named in 

section 3

    (b) have committed war crimes and serious human rights 
 violations, including the extrajudicial killing of Armenian 
 civilians and prisoners of war; the arbitrary detention, forced 
 disappearances, and torture of Armenian civilians and prisoners 
 of war and other captives, and the deliberate targeting of 
 civilian populations.

    (3) Azerbaijan's continued detainment, torture, 
 extrajudicial execution, and other serious human rights 
 violations against prisoners of war and captured civilians 
 calls into serious question their commitment to human rights 
 and ability to negotiate an equitable, lasting peace 
 settlement.

    (4) Reporting conducted in September 2022 by the United 
 Nations Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination 
 expressed deep concern over ``[a]llegations of severe and grave 
 human rights violations committed during the 2020 hostilities 
 and beyond by Azerbaijani military forces against prisoners of 
 war and other protected persons of Armenian ethnic or national 
 origin--including extrajudicial killings, torture and other 
 ill-treatment and arbitrary detention''.

    (5) The Department of State's Country Reports on Human 
 Rights Practices released in August 2025 documented ``credible 
 reports of: arbitrary or unlawful killings; torture or cruel, 
 inhuman, or degrading treatment or punishment; arbitrary arrest 
 and detention; transnational repression against individuals in 
 another country,'' and notes that ``the government [of 
 Azerbaijan] did not take credible steps or action to identify 
 and punish officials who committed human rights abuses.''.

    (6) Human rights organizations have consistently reported 
 on Azerbaijan's abuse of prisoners of war and other human 
 rights violations, including a report by Human Rights Watch in 
 March 2021 that found Azerbaijani forces had abused ethnic 
 Armenian prisoners of war and subjected them to ``cruel and 
 degrading treatment and torture either when they were captured, 
 during their transfer, or while in custody at various detention 
 facilities''.

    (7) Reporting conducted in 2024 by Freedom House found that 
 the Government of Azerbaijan ``acted upon a comprehensive, 
 methodically implemented strategy to empty Nagorno-Karabakh of 
 its ethnic Armenian population between 2020 and 2023'' and 
 engaged in a ``pattern of arbitrary detention, torture, and 
 ill-treatment of Armenians who fell into Azerbaijani 
 custody.''.

    (8) In December 2021, an International Court of Justice 
 ruling ordered Azerbaijan to protect from violence and bodily 
 harm Armenians detained during and since the 2020 Nagorno-
 Karabakh War.

    (9) At least 23 prisoners of war and hostages are still 
 detained illegally by Azerbaijan as of August 2025 according to 
 the Armenian Government, with independent observers noting that 
 the true number of detainees is likely much higher given the 
 many individuals still missing, and the limited information 
 available due to Azerbaijan's misrepresentation of their status 
 in an attempt to justify their continued captivity.

    (10) Following Azerbaijan's offensive in 2023, numerous 
 high-ranking Armenian officials in Nagorno-Karabakh were 
 arrested and detained by Azerbaijan, including Ruben Vardanyan, 
 Davit Manukyan, Davit Babayan, Levon Mnatsakanyan, Arkadi 
 Ghukasyan, Bako Sahakyan, Arayik Harutyunyan, and Davit 
 Ishkhanyan.

    (11) In January 2025, Azerbaijan commenced sham trials of 
 the aforementioned former officials of Nagorno-Karabakh in 
 Baku's military court, where detainees have been denied due 
 process, the right to a fair trial, the right to legal counsel 
 of their own choosing, and have been charged on political 
 grounds without evidence and in the absence of independent 
 observers.

    (12) In March 2025, Azerbaijan ordered the International 
 Committee of the Red Cross

    (ICRC) , the only entity in 
 Azerbaijan with the authorization to visit Armenian prisoners 
 of war and civilian captives, to leave the country.

    (13) International humanitarian law requires parties to an 
 international armed conflict to treat prisoners of war humanely 
 in all circumstances.

    (14) It is a war crime to willfully kill, mistreat, or 
 torture prisoners of war, or to willfully cause great suffering 
 or serious injury to body or health.

    (15) In addition to being bound by customary international 
 law, Azerbaijan is a party to the Geneva Conventions, the 
 International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights

    (ICCPR) , 
 and the European Convention on Human Rights

    (ECHR) which 
 strictly forbid extrajudicial killings.

    (16) Despite its international legal obligations under the 
 Geneva Conventions and repeated calls by the United States 
 Government, Azerbaijan has not released all relevant persons 
 and instead continues to detain new prisoners of war, hostages, 
 and captured civilians, nor have those responsible for serious 
 human rights violations and war crimes faced legal 
 consequences.

    (17) Following the publication of the terms of the 
 initialed peace agreement between Armenia and Azerbaijan in 
 August 2025, it was confirmed the document omits provisions to 
 ensure the release of Armenian prisoners of war or civilian 
 captives, raising concerns as to Azerbaijan's commitment to 
 ensuring a just, durable, and dignified peace in the region.

    (18) Amid fraught peace talks between Armenia and 
 Azerbaijan, the immediate and unconditional release of Armenian 
 prisoners of war, civilians, and political detainees would 
 represent an important confidence building measure.

    (19) In addition to its arbitrary detention of Armenian 
 prisoners, Azerbaijan also has also unlawfully detained over 
 300 Azerbaijani journalists, human rights defenders, civic 
 activists and opposition figures, with Azerbaijani authorities 
 escalating civil society crackdowns in the months leading up to 
 the COP29 Climate Summit in November 2024.

    (20) Azerbaijan's brutal repression of domestic political 
 opposition is of grave concern for the human rights of 
 Azerbaijanis.

    (21) The detention and subsequent torture and ill-treatment 
 of journalists like Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty reporter 
 Farid Mehralizada, critics of the Aliyev government like Dr. 
 Gubad Ibadoghlu, and human rights advocates like Rufat Safarov, 
 raises fundamental concerns about due process and the integrity 
 of the legal proceedings against those who express political 
 dissent in Azerbaijan.

    (22) Azerbaijan is designated as ``Not Free'' by Freedom 
 House due to the absence of political rights, civil liberties, 
 and rule of law.

SEC. 3. REVIEW OF SANCTIONS WITH RESPECT TO AZERBAIJAN.

    (a) Determination.--Not later than 180 days after the date of the 
enactment of this Act, the President shall submit to the appropriate 
congressional committees a determination, including a detailed 
justification, of whether any person listed in subsection

    (b) meets the 
criteria for the imposition of sanctions pursuant to--

    (1) section 1263

    (b) of the Global Magnitsky Human Rights 
 Accountability Act (22 U.S.C. 2656 note); or

    (2) section 7031
            (c) of the National Security, Department of 
 State, and Related Programs Appropriations Act.

    (b) Persons Listed.--The persons listed in this subsection, which 
includes officials of Republic of Azerbaijan, are the following:

    (1) Lieutenant General Hikmat Izzat oglu Mirzayev, 
 Commander of the Special Forces.

    (2) Lieutenant Colonel Elgun Aliyev, Chief of the Military 
 Police.

    (3) Colonel Elshan Sanaev, Commander of Azerbaijani 
 Military 218th Commando Brigade.

    (4) Lieutenant General Anvar Afandiyev, Commander of 
 Azerbaijani Ground Forces.

    (5) Major General Jeyhun Hasanov, Penitentiary Service of 
 the Ministry of Justice.

    (6) Ali Naghiyev, Chief of the State Security Services.

    (7) Samir Nuriyev, Chief of Staff to President Aliyev.

    (8) Fuad Alasgarov, Assistant to the President for Law 
 Enforcement and Military Affairs.

    (9) Orhan Samadov, Office of the General Prosecutor.

    (10) Vugar Guliyev, Office of the General Prosecutor.

    (11) Ziya Masurov, Office of the General Prosecutor.

    (12) Parviz Mirhashimov, Office of the General Prosecutor.

    (13) Babakhan Hasanaliyev, Office of the General 
 Prosecutor.

    (14) Hamza Eldar Akbar oglu, Office of the General 
 Prosecutor.

    (15) Alakbarov Valeh Hasan oglu, Office of the General 
 Prosecutor.

    (16) Faiq Qaniyev, Judge at Baku Court on Grave Crimes.

    (17) Mirza Khankishiyev, Judge at Baku Court on Grave 
 Crimes.

    (18) Ilham Mahmudov, Judge at Baku Court on Grave Crimes.

    (19) Eldar Ismayilov, Judge at Baku Court on Grave Crimes.

    (20) Javid Huseynov, Judge at Baku Court on Grave Crimes.

    (21) Samir Aliyev, Judge at Baku Court on Grave Crimes.

    (22) Azad Madjidov, Judge at Baku Court on Grave Crimes.

    (23) Zeynal Agayev, Judge at Baku Court on Grave Crimes.

    (24) Sabuhi Huseynov, Judge at Baku Court on Grave Crimes.

    (25) Afgan Hajiyev, Judge at Baku Court on Grave Crimes.

    (26) Telman Huseynov, Judge at Baku Court on Grave Crimes.

    (27) Ali Mammadov, Judge at Baku Court on Grave Crimes.

    (28) Vusal Gurbanov, Narimanov District Court Judge.

    (29) Kamranov Hafiz, Narimanov District Court Judge.

    (30) Yusif Yusifov, Chief Investigator of the Investigation 
 Department for Combating Organized Crime, Ministry of Internal 
 Affairs.

    (31) Abbasov Mirzali Abdulali oglu, Baku Court of Appeals.

    (32) Major General Abulfat Rzayev, Main Organized Crime 
 Department, Ministry of Internal Affairs.

    (33) Mammadov Elchin, First Deputy Prosecutor General.

    (34) Lieutenant Fuad Rafael oglu Nabiyev, Azerbaijan 
 Ministry of Defense.

    (35) Elchin Guliyev, State Border Service of Azerbaijan.

    (36) Ilham Mehdiyev, State Border Service of Azerbaijan.

    (37) Vusal Sultanov, State Border Service of Azerbaijan.

    (38) Azad Alakbarov, State Border Service of Azerbaijan.

    (39) Ismayil Akbarov, State Border Service of Azerbaijan.

    (40) Ramin Bagirov, State Border Service of Azerbaijan.

    (41) Lieutenant Colonel Elgun Aliyev, Military Police 
 Department of the Ministry of Defence.

    (42) Karim Valiyev, Chief of the General Staff of the 
 Azerbaijani Armed Forces.

    (43) Nemat Avazov, Director of the Investigation 
 Department, Office of the Prosecutor General.

    (44) Tagiyev Azer Heydar oglu, Nasimi District Court Judge.

    (45) Ali Hasanov, Head of the Department for Public and 
 Political Issues.

    (46) Mehman Ahmadov, Director of State Security Service 
 Investigative Isolator and Temporary Detention Facility in 
 Baku.

    (47) Major General Hikmat Hasanov, Commander of the 1st 
 Army Corps of Azerbaijan.

    (48) Kamran Aliyev, Prosecutor General.

    (49) Ulviyya Shukuruvo, Baku City Sabail District Court 
 Judge.

    (50) Elnur Ismayilov, Deputy of Baku Investigative 
 Detention Center.

    (51) Major General Mais Barkhudarov, Commander of the 1st 
 Army Corps of Azerbaijan.

    (52) Major General Zaur Sabir Memmedov, Deputy Head of 
 Azerbaijan's Special Forces.

    (53) Colonel Tehran Mensimov, Commander of the Nakhichevan 
 Army's Special Forces.
            (c) Appropriate Congressional Committees Defined.--In this Act, the 
term ``appropriate congressional committees'' means--

    (1) the Committee on Foreign Relations, Committee on 
 Appropriations, and the Committee on Banking, Housing, and 
 Urban Affairs of the Senate; and

    (2) the Committee on Foreign Affairs, Committee on 
 Appropriations, and the Committee on Financial Services of the 
 House of Representatives.
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