Azerbaijan's Supreme Court has decided to keep former diplomat Emin Ibrahimov in prison

Emin Ibrahimov

On February 25, the court turned down his appeal, meaning he will serve the seven-year sentence given by the Baku Grave Crimes Court.

Ibrahimov was arrested on July 22, 2024, accused of hooliganism and seriously hurting someone. Prosecutors say he stabbed a man named Kamal Shukurov. But Ibrahimov says he didn't have a knife and that the whole thing is a setup to silence him because he has criticized the government.

Before his arrest, Ibrahimov worked as a diplomat in the U.S. and Uruguay. In March 2020, he quit his job at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to protest what he saw as unfair elections and a lack of basic freedoms in Azerbaijan. Since then, he has openly criticized the government's policies.

Ibrahimov's case is like others in Azerbaijan. Human rights activists and politicians have noticed that several activists, such as Zamin Salayev and others, have been accused of similar knife attacks. These activists often say the incidents were staged and that the victims were told to hurt themselves to create an excuse for arresting them for political reasons. The Supreme Court's decision means Ibrahimov will stay in prison until April 2025.