Security Forces Raid Human Rights Defender Zafar Akhmedov in Azerbaijan

Zafar Akhmedov

July 19, 2025

In Azerbaijan, security forces conducted a raid on human rights defender Zafar Akhmedov. He and his son, opposition activist Fuad Akhmedli, were interrogated at the Prosecutor General’s Office as witnesses. The human rights defender described the search as "illegal."

On July 17 at 7 a.m., security officers arrived at the apartment of Zafar Akhmedov, a member of the human rights organization "Line of Defense," to carry out a search.

“From early morning, an investigator from the Prosecutor General’s Office, six operatives, and two attesting witnesses came to our home. They presented a court warrant and began the search. They seized all the phones and computers in the house. My son Fuad and I were taken to the Prosecutor General’s Office. We were interrogated for two hours as witnesses in a criminal case that was opened many years ago, a case to which we had no connection. Afterward, we were held until 6 p.m. and then released,” Akhmedov wrote on his Facebook page.

According to the human rights defender, the seized electronic devices were returned to him the following day.

“Unfortunately, yesterday my son was fired from the job he had worked so hard to find,” Akhmedov added.

He called the actions of the security forces unlawful, pointing out that "searches are not conducted on witnesses."

Attempts to obtain a comment from the Prosecutor General’s Office of Azerbaijan were unsuccessful.

Zafar Akhmedov is a co-founder of the human rights organization “Line of Defense,” whose executive director was arrested in December 2024 on charges of “extortion through threats.”

Safarov denied the charges and claimed the criminal case was fabricated. On December 6, he had planned to travel to the United States to receive a human rights award at a ceremony held in honor of International Human Rights Day. On December 10, 2024, Safarov was awarded the U.S. State Department’s prize in absentia.

It is also worth noting that Zafar Akhmedov’s son, Fuad Akhmedli, has previously been subjected to persecution. He was detained in August 2016, allegedly for ties to the FETO organization, which is recognized as a terrorist group in Turkey.

However, Akhmedli was officially charged with disseminating personal data of subscribers of the mobile company where he worked. In June 2017, he was sentenced to four years in prison under articles related to "Violation of legislation on operational investigative activities" and "Abuse of official authority." The defense viewed the sentence as politically motivated. In August 2020, Akhmedli was released after serving his full term.