Galib Bayramov's Trial Begins

On October 8, a preparatory hearing was held at the Baku Court on Grave Crimes in the case against Galib Bayramov, head of the Azerbaijani Center for Economic Research.

He is charged under Articles 193-1.2.2, 193-1.2.3, and 193-1.3.2 (legalization (laundering) of criminally obtained large-scale income; the same actions committed using official position and repeatedly), 308.1 (abuse of official powers), and 313 (official forgery) of the Criminal Code of Azerbaijan, which carry penalties of up to 12 years in prison.

Bayramov, who was brought to criminal liability in the so-called case against local and foreign NGOs, is currently under police supervision. He rejects the charges.

During the preparatory court hearing, the activist's lawyer, Zibeyda Sadigova, petitioned for the termination of the criminal case.

According to the lawyer, despite Bayramov being charged with the legalization of criminally obtained income, there is no credible evidence of his guilt in the case.

"Galib Bayramov is an economist; he carried out his activities as an expert. Bayramov prepared research reports based on service contracts. What 'money laundering' can we even be talking about?" the lawyer asked.

She noted that the court decided to leave the motion unconsidered at this stage and set the substantive hearings (trial proper) for October 22.

In March 2025, the General Prosecutor's Office of Azerbaijan resumed the criminal case against local and foreign NGOs, which had originally been opened back in 2014.

Around 100 people were involved in the investigation, with 10 of them being criminally charged.