Azerbaijani dissident dies following stabbing attack in France

A critic of Azerbaijan's ruling family died Tuesday of his wounds two days after being stabbed at his home in France where he had received political asylum, prosecutors said.

Vidadi Isgandarli, who ran a YouTube channel and a blog, was bitterly critical of Azerbaijan's authorities under President Ilham Aliyev who succeeded his father over two decades ago.

Isgandarli, 62, was attacked in his apartment in the eastern city of Mulhouse on Sunday by three masked individuals while he was sleeping, said lawyer Henri Carpentier who works with a fellow France-based Azerbaijani dissident Mahammad Mirzali.

According to the investigation, the victim's body showed signs of about 15 stab wounds, the regional prosecutor's office said.

His screams alerted neighbours who forced the attackers to flee.

Isgandarli was in intensive care and could not be questioned because of his condition.

"An autopsy has been ordered and we are looking at everything we can, including video surveillance," the prosecutor's office said.

The victim had obtained a humanitarian visa in France in 2017, granted to people whose life or security is threatened.

His brother Oktay told Prague-based Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty that he had "no doubt this is a politically motivated assassination".

International focus on the rights record of Azerbaijan -- ruled by Aliyev since the death of his father Heydar in 2003 -- is expected to increase in coming weeks as the gas-rich Central Asian state hosts the COP 29 UN climate change conference in November.

Aliyev, whose vice president is his wife Mehriban Aliyeva, is regularly accused by rights groups of trampling on rights in the ex-Soviet state.

Mirzali was punched and stabbed by attackers in March 2021 in the western French city of Nantes.