Jailed Azerbaijani activist threatened with new charges, family says

Elvin Mustafayev

A jailed Azerbaijani trade union activist has been threatened with a new criminal case after protesting against the treatment of a fellow activist, his family has said.

Elvin Mustafayev, a member of the Workers’ Table Trade Unions Confederation (İşçi Masası), is currently serving a three-year sentence at Prison No. 17.

His relatives told the independent media outlet Meydan TV that the prison's head of regime, Samit Gafarov, threatened Mustafayev with new charges.

The threat reportedly followed Mustafayev's protest over the treatment of Tofiq Yaqublu, another jailed public activist who has been experiencing health issues.

His family said this is not the first time Mustafayev has faced intimidation, alleging that he was previously subjected to physical abuse by prison staff.

According to his relatives, Mustafayev was beaten by up to 10 prison employees—including the deputy head of the facility, a lieutenant-colonel—after refusing a demand to shave his beard.

Mustafayev had argued the demand was unlawful ahead of a planned transfer to a Baku detention facility, where his appeal for conditional early release was due to be heard.

His family added that despite filing a formal complaint about the physical abuse, representatives from the Azerbaijan Ombudsman’s Office have yet to visit him.

Mustafayev was arrested in August 2023 and sentenced in January 2024 on drug trafficking charges.

He has consistently denied the allegations, maintaining that the drugs were planted on him and that his prosecution is politically motivated.

The Workers’ Table Trade Unions Confederation was established in 2022 to defend labour rights in Azerbaijan.

Several of its prominent members, including the organisation's chairman Afiaddin Mammadov, alongside members Aykhan Israfilov and Mohyaddin Orujov, are currently imprisoned.

All of them deny the various charges against them, maintaining that their arrests are politically motivated.