Supreme Court Rejects Elvin Mustafayev’s Appeal

Elvin Mustafayev

On May 22, the Supreme Court rejected the appeal of Elvin Mustafayev, a member of the “Workers’ Table” Trade Unions Confederation, and upheld the rulings of the lower courts. This was reported by his relatives.

During the hearing, it was revealed that Mustafayev had been brought directly from the punishment cell (solitary confinement) to the courtroom. The case was heard under the chairmanship of Supreme Court judge Vidadi Jafarov.

Previously, his relatives had stated that Elvin Mustafayev had been transferred from Correctional Facility No. 13 to Facility No. 6, where he was placed in a punishment cell (solitary confinement). According to them, although Mustafayev was supposed to be released from solitary on May 19, this did not happen. They also claimed that on May 22, Mustafayev was brought straight from the punishment cell to the courtroom. No response has been obtained from the Penitentiary Service regarding these statements from his family.

Since May 6, 2025, Mustafayev had been on a hunger strike demanding the release of opposition politician Tofig Yagublu and other political prisoners. Following the protest, reports emerged that pressure against him intensified, his place of detention was changed, and for some time no information was provided about his whereabouts.

According to information from his family on May 19, Elvin Mustafayev, who had not been heard from since May 6, was transferred to Correctional Facility No. 6. Previously held at Facility No. 13, Mustafayev had announced on May 6 that he was beginning a hunger strike in support of political prisoners. His relatives stated that they had received no news from him after that announcement. Nearly two weeks later, they learned that Mustafayev had been transferred to Facility No. 6 and placed in a punishment cell (solitary confinement). The Penitentiary Service has not yet provided any comment on this information.

Relatives of Elvin Mustafayev reported on May 14 that they had not been able to get any information about him for more than a week. According to the “Workers’ Table,” Mustafayev began a hunger strike on May 6 at Correctional Facility No. 13, protesting the violation of prisoners’ rights and the continued imprisonment of political detainees.“Following this, he was subjected to pressure, transferred from his place of detention, and his current whereabouts became unknown,” the statement said. His relatives expressed serious concern about his health. So far, no official response has been received from the Penitentiary Service or other relevant government bodies regarding the situation.

Elvin Mustafayev was arrested in August 2023 on charges related to drug trafficking. On January 31, 2024, the Baku Court of Grave Crimes sentenced him to three years in prison. Mustafayev rejected the charges and linked them to his activism with the “Workers’ Table”:

“As I was leaving a store, four people violently attacked me. They immediately seized my phone and took me to the station. They told me that if I didn’t confess, they would stage a woman’s accusation against me and charge me with rape—or claim I was an ‘Iranian agent’ and imprison me for that.”

The “Workers’ Table” Trade Unions Confederation, founded in 2022 to advocate for labor rights in Azerbaijan, currently has four members behind bars: Chairperson Afaddin Mammadov, and members Aykhan Israfilov, Elvin Mustafayev, and Mohyaddin Orujov. Although they face different charges, all of the accusations are widely considered to be fabricated and politically motivated.

According to lists compiled by local human rights organizations, there are currently around 350 political prisoners in Azerbaijan. Officials deny the existence of politically motivated arrests, insisting that those labeled as political prisoners are being prosecuted solely for their actions. However, international human rights organizations, the U.S. State Department, and a group of Western diplomats in Baku have called on the government to release those unjustly detained and to cease its pressure on independent media and civil society.