Azerbaijan extends pre-trial detention of opposition leader Ali Karimli

Ali Karimli

An Azerbaijani court on Wednesday extended the pre-trial detention of prominent opposition leader Ali Karimli by a further five months, party members said.

The Sabail District Court in Baku approved a request by the State Security Service (DTX) to keep the Popular Front Party of Azerbaijan (PFPA) chairman in custody.

Karimli was arrested on 1 December last year on charges of attempting to seize power by force and forcibly changing the constitutional order.

The court had previously extended his detention by four months in February.

Karimli and fellow PFPA official Mammad Ibrahim, who faces the same charges, deny the allegations and say the prosecution is politically motivated.

The PFPA has rejected the charges entirely, describing the case as part of a "repressive campaign" by the government.

Pro-government media reports claim Karimli was detained in connection with a criminal investigation involving Ramiz Mehdiyev, the former head of Azerbaijan's presidential administration.

According to the PFPA, security officers searched Karimli’s home and planted a copy of a letter allegedly written by Mehdiyev to Russian President Vladimir Putin, which officers then claimed to have found.

The letter, which was previously published in state-aligned media, reportedly proposed that Russia help establish a transitional government in Azerbaijan. Mehdiyev’s response to the allegations is not known.

Karimli has previously denied any collaboration with the former administration official.

Several other high-profile figures have been targeted in connection with the same case.

Jamil Hasanli, the chairman of the National Council opposition coalition, has been interrogated by the security services, while former Deputy Prime Minister Abbas Abbasov has been placed on an international wanted list.

Another opposition figure, Gultekin Hajibeyli, was reportedly detained in Turkey pending deportation to Azerbaijan.