Last week, a group of US Congress members, led by Congresswoman Dina Titus, introduced a bill (HR8141) at the House of Representatives that would enable the punishment of high-ranking Azerbaijani officials for human rights abuses and military operations.

That bill is getting more and more support among members of Congress. To date, the number of its co-authors has increased from 21 to 27. Congress members Dan Goldman, Michelle Steel, and Mike Quigley also have joined the bill.

According to Azerbaijani media, the final version of this bill contains a list of 44 Azerbaijani officials.

After the bill was introduced in Congress last week, it was referred to the foreign relations and judiciary committees. No further action has been taken yet. If the bill passes, Congress would require the Biden administration to impose sanctions on Azerbaijani officials under the Magnitsky Act for brutal repression of political opposition in Azerbaijan and military aggression against Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh) in 2023.