
Authorities must free Afiyaddin Mammadov and Mohyaddin Orujov and end courtroom violence
On January 14, 2025, Afiyaddin Mammadov, a prominent labour rights defender and chair of the Confederation of Workers’ Desk Trade Unions was sentenced to eight years in prison in the Azerbaijani capital, Baku. Previously, the prosecutor asked for a 10-year prison sentence for charges that the Free Voices Collective and international organisations consider politically motivated. Meanwhile, the trial of another workers’ rights defender, Mohyaddin Orujov, was marred by unlawful actions in the courtroom. As a result, Orujov’s hearing was suspended until further notification.
During Orujov’s hearing, which took place on January 7, his relatives and four members of the Confederation of Workers’ Desk Trade Unions— Tural Farzili, Narmin Rustamli, Ilkin Ziya, and Sara Rahimova were subjected to violence. Entirely disregarding and disrespecting their rights, the employees of the Penitentiary Institution and the Ministry of Justice insulted and dragged them out of the courtroom.
Background
Afiyaddin Mammadov is the chair of the Confederation of Workers’ Desk Trade Unions. He was arrested on September 20, 2023, on initial charges of “intentional injury with the intent to vandalise” and “hooliganism with the use of a weapon.” However, these charges were aggravated to include the crimes of “causing serious injury to health in a manner that endangers public order” and “illegal possession of weapons.” The latter charges relate to an incident in which Mammadov himself was attacked and injured but was later charged as the assailant.
Mohyaddin Orujov is a Confederation of Workers’ Desk Trade Unions member. He was arrested on December 13, 2023, and charged with drug possession and trafficking. This was not the first time Ourjov was prosecuted. In October 2023, Orujov was sentenced to administrative detention and tortured for criticising the Azerbaijani president on social media.
Other Confederation of Workers’ Desk Trade Union members have faced similar persecution.
In August 2023, authorities arrested a board member, Aykhan Israfilov, on bogus drug possession charges. Israfilov was sentenced to 3 years in prison in April 2024. The activist denied charges leveled against him.
Elvin Mustafayev was sentenced to 3 years in prison in January 2024 for participating in a courier strike defending workers’ rights.
All activists deny the charges and link their arrests to labour rights activism.