Namizad Safarov's arrest has been extended.

A Baku court has extended the detention of Azerbaijani lawyer and human rights activist Namizad Safarov for another three months. Safarov's defense intends to appeal the decision.

As reported by the "Caucasian Knot", lawyer and human rights activist, former attorney Namizad Safarov, known for his active civic stance, was detained in Azerbaijan on December 9. Pro-government media have named Safarov as a fraud suspect. The "People's Parliament of Azerbaijan," created in 2024 by Azerbaijani political emigrants abroad, of which Safarov became a member, condemned his detention and called the case against him political persecution. On December 11, the court remanded him in pretrial detention for four months.

The Khatai District Court of Baku reviewed and granted the investigator's motion to extend Safarov's pretrial detention. Safarov's pretrial detention has been extended; he will remain in custody for another three months, a "Caucasian Knot" correspondent was told today in court.

Safarov denies the charges against him, and the investigation has not provided primary credible evidence of the lawyer's guilt, his lawyer told a "Caucasian Knot" correspondent.

“On the other hand, if the investigation needs time to ‘gather evidence,’ they can do so without keeping Namizad Safarov in custody. He is a lawyer with many years of experience as an investigator, attorney, and human rights defender; he knows the law well and will not evade the investigation. However, the defense’s arguments were unsuccessful; the court refused to change Safarov’s pretrial detention to house arrest and remanded him in custody for another three months, until mid-July,” the defense attorney said.

The lawyer added that the court's decision to extend Safarov's arrest will be appealed. Representatives of the investigative body were unavailable for comment.

Representatives of the Azerbaijani opposition previously expressed doubts about the validity of the charges against Safarov, and Azerbaijani human rights activists have recognized him as a political prisoner. Jamil Hasanli, head of the National Council of Democratic Forces, stated that Safarov has defended the rights of ordinary citizens for many years and is known for his integrity, and therefore considers the embezzlement charge absurd. In his opinion, the arrest is related to the lawyer's civic and critical stance and may be politically motivated, like the cases of other activists.

Another activist, who wished to remain anonymous, also called the charges implausible. He emphasized that Safarov was one of the few remaining government critics in the country and noted that choosing arrest over a more lenient preventive measure for an elderly lawyer appears biased.

Information on the persecution of activists in the Caucasus regions is published by the "Caucasian Knot" on the thematic page "Persecution of Activists." The "Caucasian Knot" also prepared a report "Persecution of Human Rights Defenders and Civil Activists in Azerbaijan."