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Alpay Mammad

Alpay Mammad

is an election-monitoring specialist and civil society activist who was detained on March 14, 2025

 

  • CASE STATUS
    Pre-trial dentention
  • DETAINED IN
    Baku Pre-Trial Detention Facility
  • GROUP
    Activist
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Date of Birth: 24 February 1990
Detained Since: 14 March 2025
Affiliation: Executive Director of the Election Monitoring Alliance and civil society activist.

Charges:

  • Illegal entrepreneurship on an especially large scale (Art. 192.3.2)

  • Money laundering, including repeated laundering, laundering through abuse of official position, laundering by an organized group, and laundering in a significant amount (Arts. 193-1.2.2, 193-1.2.3, 193-1.3.1, 193-1.3.2)

  • Smuggling by an organized group (Art. 206.4)

  • Tax evasion by an organized group (Art. 213.2.1)

  • Abuse of official powers with grave consequences (Art. 308.2)

  • Official forgery (Art. 313)

  • Forgery, illegal preparation or sale of official documents (Art. 320.1)

  • Use of forged official documents (Art. 320.2)

Conviction and Sentence:

Trial ongoing before the Baku Assize Court. No conviction or sentence to date.

Political Prisoner Status:

His detention meets criteria (a) and (e) of PACE Resolution 1900 (2012):

  • Violation of freedom of expression and association, as well as the right to a fair trial and liberty under the ECHR.

  • His prosecution is politically motivated and aimed at silencing him for his election-monitoring and civil society work.

Summary:

Alpay Mammad is an Azerbaijani election-monitoring expert and civil society activist, serving as Executive Director of the Election Monitoring Alliance and actively involved in democratic participation and election observation since 2010.

He was detained on 14 March 2025 in connection with the reopened “NGO case” and initially charged with money laundering, abuse of official powers, and official forgery. The case was later significantly expanded to include a wide range of financial and administrative offenses, widely regarded as fabricated and politically motivated.

His prosecution is part of a broader crackdown on independent civil society, election monitoring groups, and NGO networks in Azerbaijan since 2022-2023. Authorities have reactivated earlier criminal cases to target civic actors, reinterpreting legitimate donor-funded and organizational activities as criminal conduct.

The proceedings have been marked by serious fair trial concerns, including prolonged pre-trial detention, rejection of defense motions such as house arrest, and restrictions during hearings. Courts have consistently favored the prosecution while dismissing defense arguments without proper scrutiny.

Alpay Mammad has denied all charges, stating that his prosecution is directly linked to his work in election monitoring and human rights. His case reflects a broader pattern of politically motivated prosecutions aimed at dismantling independent civic activity and suppressing democratic oversight.

International human rights organizations, including Human Rights Watch, have condemned his detention as politically motivated and unjust.

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