Public Activist Anar Abdulla Arrested in Azerbaijan

Anar Abdulla

On August 4, the Baku Court on Grave Crimes changed the restraining order for public activist Anar Abdulla, placing him under arrest.

Abdulla is a defendant in a smuggling case along with Anar Mammadli, the head of the Election Monitoring and Democracy Studies Center, who was arrested in April 2024.

In April 2025, Abdulla was charged in the case and given a "police supervision" restraining order.

On July 11, Abdulla was arrested administratively for 30 days on charges of "petty hooliganism" and "disobeying police."

On August 4, at the Baku Court on Grave Crimes, the prosecutor proposed that Abdulla be detained, claiming he "did not comply" with the requirements of his police supervision. Specifically, the prosecutor alleged that Abdulla "failed to check in on time at the Narimanov District Police Department in Baku."

Abdulla's defense, however, stated that the activist had not received any warnings from the police. The defense also pointed out that Abdulla is registered to live in a different district of Baku, Binagadi.

Abdulla himself called the prosecutor's proposal a "political order."

Nevertheless, the court granted the prosecutor's request and placed Abdulla under arrest. The indictment was then read at the trial.

Both defendants pleaded not guilty.

"I do not plead guilty, the charges are fabricated. It is not even clear what language the indictment is written in; its content is incomprehensible," said Mammadli.

The lawyers also noted the "incomprehensibility" of the indictment, in which some sentences span 3–4 pages.

The next court hearing is scheduled for September 22.