A li Karimli has spent nearly half a year languishing in a grisly Baku jail cell on contested treason charges. The veteran leader of Azerbaijan’s pro-democracy opposition party, 61, has long accused the regime of politically-motivated detentions, torturing his staff and blowing up his party headquarters. But the latest arrest is different, he says. Speaking to The Independent from prison, Karimli says his arrest comes amid a spiralling crackdown on dissent - and urges Western trading partners to act with “courage” and press the regime on its rights record, lest political opposition disappear altogether. “The repressive campaign already underway ... has now reached its peak with my arrest,” he said, adding: “It signals that a new era has begun - one in which the authorities intend to eliminate organised political opposition in Azerbaijan permanently.” Ali Karimli was remanded in pre-trial detention on 1 December.…