Latest News & Updates

Imran Aliyev An Azerbaijani court has restarted the trial of independent journalist Imran Aliyev, who used the hearing to demand authorities unfreeze his family's bank accounts. Aliyev, the head of the Meclis.info watchdog website, is facing multiple charges including smuggling and tax evasion in a case that local and international rights groups have condemned as politically motivated. During the hearing at the Baku Grave Crimes Court on 7 July, the presiding judge, Roman Ala

Ardeshir Seyfpur Saad Abadi A court in Azerbaijan has rejected an appeal to release a Belarusian student to house arrest as he awaits trial over allegations of spray-painting graffiti on a landmark cinema. Ardeshir Seyfpur Saad Abadi, 20, was arrested in early April and placed in pre-trial detention for four months. The Nasimi District Court in Baku heard his appeal on 8 July but refused to replace his detention with house arrest. Azerbaijani authorities accuse Abadi of vanda

Mamed Khalidov A Polish court has sentenced prominent mixed martial arts (MMA) fighter Mamed Khalidov to 18 months in prison over the handling of stolen luxury cars and assaulting a police officer, local media reported. The district court in the southern town of Tarnowskie Góry also ordered the 44-year-old to pay a fine of PLN 280,000 ($76,000). The verdict is not yet legally binding, and Khalidov remains free pending an appeal. The court found Khalidov guilty of purchasing o

The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) has ordered the Azerbaijani government to pay €75,450 (£63,000) to a family whose property was unlawfully demolished by local authorities. The ruling, published on 7 July, concerns Firuz Verdiyev and Safayat Verdiyeva, whose commercial building in the western city of Ganja was destroyed in 2013. The Strasbourg-based court found that Azerbaijan had violated the family's right to property and their right to a fair trial. The dispute beg

Nijat Ibrahim Azerbaijani authorities are seeking to move jailed activist Nijat Ibrahim to a closed-security prison, his lawyer and family have said. The head of Prison No. 10 has submitted a formal request to a court asking for Ibrahim's sentence to be upgraded to a closed prison regime for three years. A hearing is scheduled to take place at the Narimanov District Court on 14 July. Ibrahim's wife, Parvin Ibrahimova, told reporters that the move was a pretext to punish her h

Nargiz Mukhtarova An Azerbaijani court has handed women’s rights defender Nargiz Mukhtarova a seven-and-a-half-year suspended prison sentence in a case widely criticised by civil society groups. The Baku Grave Crimes Court on Thursday found Mukhtarova guilty of money laundering and abuse of power, but dropped a forgery charge because the statute of limitations had expired. She was given a three-year probation period. She had previously been under police supervision rather tha

Sahib Mammadzada An Azerbaijani opposition activist has gone on a hunger strike in prison after being placed in solitary confinement for allegedly failing to wear socks during a daily roll call, his family says. Sahib Mammadzada, the local chairman of the opposition Azerbaijani Popular Front Party (APFP) in the Dashkasan region, has been on a dry hunger strike for four days at Prison No. 10, according to relatives speaking on 9 July. His family said guards punished him after

Zabil Gahramanov The trial of a prominent Azerbaijani defence lawyer who has spent nearly nine months in pre-trial detention has begun in the western city of Ganja. Zabil Gahramanov faces charges of hooliganism and fraud, which his defence team has dismissed as entirely baseless and politically motivated. During a preliminary hearing at Ganja City Court on 8 July 2026, his lawyers filed motions to have the criminal case dismissed or, alternatively, for Mr Gahramanov to be rel

Turkey's Abkhaz diaspora has launched a campaign urging Ankara to recognise Abkhaz passports and establish direct transport links with the breakaway Georgian region. Organisers of the campaign, representing an estimated 500,000 ethnic Abkhazians living in Turkey, are urging citizens to submit petitions directly to the Turkish presidency's communication centre. The group is asking Turkey to accept Abkhaz identity documents and open air and sea routes, arguing that the territor

Ilduze Hajiyeva An Azerbaijani court has sentenced popular TikTok influencer Ilduze Hajiyeva to five years and two months in prison over a fatal car crash in Baku. Hajiyeva, known online to her followers as "Arzum 9999", was convicted of violating traffic safety regulations causing death, and illegally leaving the scene of an accident. The Khazar District Court also stripped her of her driving licence for two and a half years following the trial, which concluded on 2 July. Th

Defence lawyers in Azerbaijan have called for the acquittal of independent journalists and activists as closing arguments concluded in the high-profile Toplum TV trial on Monday. The trial of 10 defendants associated with the independent outlet Toplum TV and the Institute for Democratic Initiatives (IDI) concluded its defence stage at the Baku Grave Crimes Court. The defendants, who face aggravated smuggling charges, deny all allegations and say the prosecution is politically

A legislative campaign in Georgia has severely restricted independent organisations and cut off vital funding, Human Rights Watch (HRW) has said. In a new report, the international campaign group said the Tbilisi government must stop treating civic activity as a threat and repeal measures designed to silence critics. The report, titled Georgia: New Laws Are Destroying Independent Civil Society Groups, claims the authorities are making alarming progress towards dismantling the

Kassym-Jomart Tokayev Kazakhstan's Constitutional Court has ruled that President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev can seek another seven-year term in office, effectively resetting his presidential term limit. The court said on Tuesday that restrictions under the country’s newly adopted constitution only apply to elections held after the law came into force on 1 July. As a result, terms served under the previous 1995 basic law will not be counted towards the single-term limit. Approved i

Samira Gasimli The wife of jailed Azerbaijani political analyst Azer Gasimli has been formally charged with criminal defamation over Facebook posts she wrote defending her husband. Samira Gasimli faces up to six months in prison if convicted of slander and insult under the country's criminal code. The private prosecution was launched by Gurbanali Yusibov, the same businessman whose previous fraud and extortion complaint led to Mr Gasimli's 12-year prison sentence. At a hearin

Gagik Tsarukyan An Armenian court has detained the prominent tycoon and opposition leader Gagik Tsarukyan for two months over allegations of a $22m (£17m) fraud and money laundering scheme. Tsarukyan, who leads the Prosperous Armenia party, was arrested on Tuesday following a 12-hour search of his home and offices by national security agents. The Investigative Committee said he led a criminal group that defrauded Iranian logistics firms of 52 vehicles and equipment under the

Adam Kadyrov The 18-year-old son of Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov has been awarded a prestigious traffic police medal, weeks after posting footage of himself committing serious road violations. Adam Kadyrov, who serves as the head of Chechnya’s Security Council, received the commemorative jubilee medal marking the 90th anniversary of Russia's traffic police during a ceremony in Grozny on 3 July. The award has drawn scrutiny from independent media, which have repeatedly linked

Iqbal Abilov An imprisoned Azerbaijani ethnic minority researcher has launched a defamation lawsuit against four domestic media outlets, accusing them of violating his presumption of innocence following his high treason conviction. Iqbal Abilov, the chief editor of the Talysh National Academy News, appeared at the Yasamal District Court in Baku on Tuesday. His civil action targets state-aligned broadcaster ATV, the Trend news agency, and news portals Hit.az and Qafqazinfo. Mr

A former shareholder in an Azerbaijani bus station has taken his case to the European Court of Human Rights, claiming local officials and courts illegally stripped him of his stake. Valeh Aliyev, who held a 14.1% stake in Salyan Avtovağzalı (Salyan Bus Station), alleges that his shares were deleted in 2022 during a forced liquidation of the joint-stock company. He claims the move was part of a wider effort by the majority shareholder and local authorities to cover up hundreds

Zabil Gahramanov The trial of a prominent Azerbaijani lawyer has opened in the western city of Ganja, months after he accused local police of corruption and abuse of power. Zabil Gahramanov, who has been held in pre-trial detention since October last year, faces four charges, including hooliganism and fraud, which he rejects as politically motivated. He was recently transferred from the Baku Investigative Detention Centre in Kurdakhani to Ganja Detention Centre No. 2. A preli

Shirvan Karimov Russian authorities have revoked the citizenship of Shirvan Karimov, the leader of an Azerbaijani diaspora organisation in Samara, amid a growing diplomatic rift between Moscow and Baku. Mr Karimov was reportedly informed of the decision while visiting Azerbaijan, where he currently remains. Russian state agencies have not officially disclosed the grounds for his citizenship revocation. His case is the latest in a series of measures targeting Azerbaijani commu