Date of Birth: 2001
Detained Since: 6 May 2025
Affiliation: Founder, Yoldash Media; former Chair, Democracy 1918 (D18)

Charges:

• Intentional infliction of grievous bodily harm dangerous to human life, committed with hooligan intent (Art. 126.2.4)
• Aggravated hooliganism committed with the use of a weapon or an item used as a weapon, accompanied by violence against a person (Art. 221.3)

Conviction and Sentence:
Convicted by the Baku Assize Court on 16 March 2026 under Article 126.2.4 and sentenced to 6 years’ imprisonment in a general-regime penal institution. The charge under Article 221.3 was dropped.

Political Prisoner Status:
His detention and imprisonment meet criteria (a) and (e) of PACE Resolution 1900 (2012):

• (a) Violation of freedom of expression and association, as well as the rights to a fair trial, liberty and security under the ECHR
• (e) Political motives were the sole and predominant reason for the unfair criminal proceedings that resulted in his detention and imprisonment 

Summary:
Ahmad Mammadli is an Azerbaijani civic activist, journalist, and former chair of the pro-democracy movement Democracy 1918 (D18). Following the suspension of D18, he founded Yoldash Media, an independent online media initiative covering human rights violations, socio-political trials, and labour struggles. He had previously faced administrative detention, an arbitrary travel ban, police summonses, and surveillance linked to his political and anti-war advocacy. 

On the night of 6 May 2025, Mammadli was detained following an alleged confrontation in a shared taxi, in which a man claimed that Mammadli had assaulted and stabbed him with a folding pocket knife. Mammadli maintained that he had been under surveillance and was subjected to an orchestrated ambush and physical violence. He was charged with intentional infliction of grievous bodily harm with hooligan intent and aggravated hooliganism with a weapon.

The proceedings were marked by serious procedural violations and disputed evidence. No blood was detected on the seized knife, and no fingerprint or DNA analysis was conducted to establish that Mammadli had touched or used it. None of the civilian witnesses testified to seeing him stab the complainant, while a key witness recanted his earlier testimony and said he had been instructed to sign a pre-drafted statement.

Mammadli also alleged that he was severely beaten and subjected to electroshock torture in police custody to force him to surrender his mobile phone password. Medical records documented bodily injuries, but the trial court refused to investigate his allegations of torture.

His arrest forms part of a broader campaign against grassroots activists, independent journalists, civil society organisations, and critical media in Azerbaijan. His prosecution followed a pattern of alleged staged knife-attack accusations previously used against other activists. International human rights organisations have denounced the charges against him as politically motivated.

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