Date of Birth: 28 October 1989
Detained Since: 4 August 2025
Affiliation: Freelance journalist and civil society activist

Charges:

• Illegal entrepreneurship (Art. 192.3.2)

• Money laundering by an organized group and in a significant amount (Arts. 193-1.3.1 and 193-1.3.2)

• Smuggling by an organized group (Art. 206.4)

• Tax and social-insurance contribution evasion by an organized group (Art. 213.2.1)

• Forgery of official documents (Art. 320.1)

• Use of forged documents (Art. 320.2)

Conviction and Sentence:

Anar Abdulla is currently a pre-trial detainee. On 8 April 2025, he was formally charged in the criminal case linked to Anar Mammadli and placed under police supervision. On 11 July 2025, he was separately sentenced to 30 days’ administrative detention. On 4 August 2025, the Baku Assize Court replaced police supervision with custodial detention, and he was arrested in the courtroom. As of the latest proceedings, his trial remains ongoing before the Baku Assize Court.

Political Prisoner Status:

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

• (a) Violation of fundamental rights, including freedom of expression, freedom of association, liberty, and the right to a fair trial under the European Convention on Human Rights.

• (e) Politically motivated prosecution aimed at silencing a journalist and civic activist connected to election monitoring and independent civil society.

Summary:

Anar Abdulla is an Azerbaijani freelance journalist and civil society activist whose public activity dates back to the NIDA civic movement in 2012. Since 2018, he has been associated with EMDS and has contributed to gozetci.az and other media outlets, particularly in areas linked to election monitoring, civic activism, and public accountability.

Before the present case, Mr. Abdulla had already faced pressure from the authorities. He was detained while covering the July 2020 events in Baku and received 15 days’ administrative detention in October 2021 in a case he linked to social media comments critical of the authorities. These earlier incidents show a pattern of pressure connected to his journalistic and civic activity.

On 8 April 2025, he was brought into the criminal case against Anar Mammadli and placed under police supervision. He was later subjected to 30 days’ administrative detention on 11 July 2025, and on 4 August 2025 the Baku Assize Court replaced police supervision with pre-trial detention, relying mainly on alleged breaches of supervision rules and police-generated materials.

The criminal accusations against him involve serious financial and document-related charges, including illegal entrepreneurship, money laundering, smuggling, tax evasion, forgery, and use of forged documents. These charges are widely regarded as fabricated and politically motivated, aimed at recasting legitimate journalistic, election-monitoring, and civic activity as criminal conduct.

His case forms part of Azerbaijan’s broader crackdown on independent journalists, election-monitoring groups, and civil society actors. The proceedings have been marked by reliance on police materials, rejection of defense arguments, and formulaic reasoning for detention. International and independent observers regard the case as politically motivated and aimed at suppressing independent civic participation.

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