Anar Mammadli called his case a "political spectacle" in court.

Azerbaijani human rights activist Anar Mammadli pointed out to the court the political nature of his criminal prosecution and compared it to Soviet repression. The court refused to release journalist Anar Abdullah, who is also charged in the same case.

As reported by the "Caucasian Knot," on May 19, it was reported that Anar Mammadli, head of the Election Monitoring and Democracy Studies Center (EMDS), had been charged with new charges. 1, and the case has been referred to court. The defense maintains Mammadli's innocence. On July 1, the court refused to transfer Mammadli to house arrest and exclude evidence obtained from his phone and computer from the case.

On September 22, a hearing was held in the Baku Court of Grave Crimes, at which Anar Mammadli delivered a defense speech, one of Mammadli's relatives told a "Caucasian Knot" correspondent.

According to him, Anar Mammadli called the charges against him "unfounded and politically motivated" in court, and the trial "a political spectacle staged by the regime."

Mammadli compared his case to the practice of Soviet repression and recalled that back in 2013 he was arrested and convicted on unfounded charges, the political motivation of which was confirmed by the ECHR decision in 2018.

Persecution of Human Rights Defenders and Civil Society Activists in Azerbaijan

According to Mammadli, the current charges "are essentially no different from the previous ones." He also disagreed with his presentation in the case as a "previously convicted person," since following the ECHR's decision, the Supreme Court of Azerbaijan was obligated to fully acquit him. However, no acquittal followed, despite the government paying him the compensation ordered by the Strasbourg Court.

Mammadli also stated that he had sought state registration for the EMDS he headed, and even won his case in the ECHR, but the Azerbaijani government failed to comply with that decision.

Now, according to Mammadli, the prosecution is presenting the EMDS's activities as a "crime." Mammadli's testimony will continue at the next court hearing on September 29, a source reported.

In turn, Anar Abdullah's lawyer, Gunay Ismayilova, told a "Caucasian Knot" correspondent that she filed several motions during the hearing.

In particular, the defense drew the court's attention to Abdullah's care for a sick mother and a young child. The lawyer requested that the pretrial detention measure be changed to transfer to police supervision. However, the court rejected the petition, Ismayilova said.

An employee of the Baku Court for Grave Crimes confirmed to a Caucasian Knot correspondent that a hearing on this case had been held, adding that the hearing would continue on September 29.

As a reminder, on June 20, journalists and employees of Abzas Media were sentenced to imprisonment for terms ranging from 7.5 to 9 years. They denied the charges in court, emphasizing that they were being persecuted for their professional activities and for investigating corruption cases.

Journalists from other media outlets, including Meydan TV, Toplum TV, and Kanal-13, were also subjected to persecution. This can be read in the "Caucasian Knot" report "Serial Arrests of Journalists in Azerbaijan".

The number of political prisoners in Azerbaijan reached its highest point in 2024 since the country's 23-year membership in the Council of Europe, according to the "Caucasian Knot" report "Key Points to the Record Number of Political Prisoners in Azerbaijan". At the same time, the Azerbaijani authorities deny the existence of political prisoners in the country.