Tofiq Yaqublu Remains in Detention After Appeal Rejection

Tofiq Yaqublu

On May 20, 2025, the appeal against the sentence given to Tofiq Yaqublu, a detained member of the National Council and the Musavat Party, was reviewed at the Baku Court of Appeal. The court, presided over by Judge Zamin Ibrahimov, denied the appeal and upheld the original verdict, which sentenced Yaqublu to 9 years in prison.

Yaqublu was sentenced on March 10, 2025, by the Baku Serious Crimes Court. He was found guilty under Articles 178.3.2 (fraud causing significant damage) and 320 (forgery or use of forged documents) of the Criminal Code. However, Yaqublu has described the charges as fabricated and staged a hunger strike from April 1 to May 10, 2025, lasting 40 days in protest. Due to a sharp deterioration in his health, he ended the hunger strike on May 10 at the request of his daughter, Nigar Hezi.

Following the appeal hearing, police dispersed the crowd gathered near the court and prevented Azerbaijan Popular Front Party (AXCP) chairman Ali Karimli and others from giving interviews regarding the trial.

The opposition activist was detained in this case on December 14, 2023. He was also previously arrested on March 22, 2020, when he was charged under Article 221.3 (hooliganism using objects as weapons) and sentenced to 4 years and 3 months in prison.

Earlier, in 2013, Yaqublu was sentenced to 5 years for organizing mass unrest in Ismayilli but was pardoned in 2016 by a presidential decree. The political activist rejects all charges, claiming he was punished on the personal orders of President Ilham Aliyev.

Several local and international human rights organizations have included his name on lists of political prisoners. However, Azerbaijani officials reject the notion that political prisoners exist in the country, insisting that those listed have been tried strictly for their criminal acts. Nonetheless, international human rights bodies have called on the government to release those unjustly detained.