In response to a media inquiry, the Armenian Foreign Intelligence Service (FIS) has denied having any ties with Azerbaijani researcher, peace activist, and OC Media contributor Bahruz Samadov.
The response was sent to Armenian journalist Zhirayr Voskanyan on Friday evening,
Voskanyan had asked the FIS to confirm or deny one of the grounds for the charges against Samadov — namely, claims that he had been ‘recruited’ by three Armenian women who were purported agents of an Armenian intelligence service.
The FIS responded that it ‘has not had and does not have any connection with the persons mentioned in the inquiry, including the citizens of [...] Azerbaijan’.
This marks Yerevan’s first official statement regarding the charges against Samadov, who was sentenced to 15 years in jail on charges of treason in June 2025, roughly a year after his initial detention.
Before his arrest, Samadov was an outspoken advocate for peace with Armenia.
Aytan Farhadova
Previously, in April 2025, Samadov penned an open letter while in pre-trial detention to Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan asking him to repudiate claims he worked with Armenian intelligence services.
OC Media reached out to Pashinyan’s office for comment at the time, but did not receive any response.
Samadov has denied the charges against him, calling the accusations of high treason fabricated. In his testimony, he stated that there was no evidence to support the accusations that he had collaborated with the Armenian security services.
Azerbaijani journalist Ulviyya Ali, who was later detained herself, previously told OC Media that Samadov was arrested ‘simply for corresponding with friends from Armenia’.
‘These conversations have been presented as “evidence”. Of course, this has happened because he is a peace activist and criticises the Azerbaijani government’, Ali said in April 2025.
On Thursday, Samadov went on hunger strike after losing an appeal to stop his transfer from Penitentiary N11 to the high-security Umbaki Correctional Prison.
Samadov previously warned his removal to Umbaki could lead to his death through ‘someone else’s hands’.
Aytan Farhadova
