Rufat Safarov is a human rights defender and former prosecutor. He is the co-founder and Executive Director of the Defence Line Human Rights Organisation, established in 2020.

The organisation documents politically motivated arrests and prosecutions, allegations of torture and ill-treatment, restrictions on fundamental freedoms and other human rights violations in Azerbaijan. Rufat Safarov also monitors trials, supports political prisoners and their families, and publicly advocates for civil and political rights.

Safarov previously worked as an investigator at the Zardab District Prosecutor’s Office. In December 2015, he resigned after publicly criticising human rights violations and corruption within the authorities. He was subsequently arrested on bribery charges, which he denied, and in September 2016 was sentenced to nine years’ imprisonment in proceedings widely regarded as politically motivated. After serving approximately three years, he was released by presidential pardon in March 2019 and continued his human rights work.

On 3 December 2024, Safarov was arrested shortly before he was due to travel to the United States to receive the US Secretary of State’s 2024 Human Rights Defender Award. He was charged with large-scale fraud, hooliganism and intentional infliction of less serious bodily harm. Rufat Safarov denied the allegations, maintaining that the case was fabricated in retaliation for his human rights activities. On 12 June 2026, the Baku Grave Crimes Court sentenced him to eight years’ imprisonment. International human rights organisations have condemned his prosecution as politically motivated and called for his immediate release and the quashing of his conviction. On 24 August 2026, the Baku Court of Appeal dismissed Safarov’s appeal and upheld his eight-year prison sentence.