Court Rejects Key Motions in Case Against Anar Mammadli and Anar Abdullayev

Next hearing scheduled for July 7

On June 30, the Baku Serious Crimes Court held another hearing in the case of Anar Mammadli, head of the Election Monitoring and Democracy Studies Center (EMDS), and civic activist Anar Abdullayev.

Presided over by Judge Aygun Qurbanova, the court denied a motion to release Anar Mammadli under house arrest.

Another motion—requesting the removal of evidence obtained from Mammadli’s phone and computer from the case files—was also rejected.

The next court session is scheduled for July 7.

Anar Mammadli was arrested in April 2024 and charged under Article 206.3.2 of the Criminal Code (smuggling committed by a group of persons in prior collusion). He denies all charges and maintains his innocence.

International human rights organizations have recognized Anar Mammadli as a political prisoner.

Civic activist Anar Abdullayev has also been named as a co-defendant in the same criminal case. He was drawn into the investigation in April 2025, and faces charges including smuggling, illegal entrepreneurship, and tax evasion.

Abdullayev initially gave testimony at the Baku City Police Department and was later placed under police supervision as a restrictive measure.