Rufat Safarov is a prominent human rights defender in Azerbaijan. He heads Defense Line, an NGO that investigates and reports on human rights abuses, including politically motivated prosecutions, government corruption, and allegations of torture. In 2016, shortly after criticizing the justice system and resigning from his position as a prosecutor, he was arrested and imprisoned for three years. Although pardoned in 2019, he was subsequently detained again for participating in a peaceful protest.  

On the evening of December 3, 2024, plainclothes individuals detained Safarov on his way home. Later, he was found at the Binagadi District police department where he was charged for large-scale fraud and hooliganism.

Safarov denied the charges and stated his arrest was connected to his human rights work, specifically the upcoming ceremony where he was to receive the U.S. Secretary of State’s Human Rights Defender Award. His arrest occurred three days before he was set to travel to the awards ceremony in Washington, DC.

On December 4, 2024, the Binagadi District Court remanded Safarov for four months in pre-trial detention.