Date of Birth: 10 March 1986
Detained Since: 7 March 2025
Affiliation: Opposition activist associated with the Popular Front Party of Azerbaijan (AXCP/PFPA)

Charges:

• Public anti-state calls are allegedly committed repeatedly or by a group of persons (Art. 281.2)

Conviction and Sentence:

On 5 June 2025, Gunduz Mirzayev was sentenced by the Baku Assize Court to 5 years and 6 months’ imprisonment; the court then revoked his earlier suspended sentence from 22 June 2021 and, by partial accumulation, fixed a final sentence of 6 years and 6 months’ imprisonment, later reduced to 5 years, 7 months and 2 days after crediting time already served.

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 punishing him for his opposition activity and political expression.

Summary:

Gunduz Mirzayev is an Azerbaijani opposition activist affiliated with the AXCP/PFPA who had previously been prosecuted following the July 2020 rally in Baku, receiving a suspended sentence in 2021.

He was detained on 7 March 2025 and charged under Article 281.2 of the Criminal Code based on alleged audio messages and discussions in WhatsApp groups. Authorities characterized these as calls for the violent seizure of power, despite the absence of any concrete actions or plans indicating such intent.

On 5 June 2025, he was convicted and sentenced, with his prior suspended sentence activated and merged into the final term. The conviction relied primarily on selected audio recordings, expert reports, and prosecution-controlled evidence, while key exculpatory testimony – including statements by the group administrator and other witnesses confirming that no discussions about overthrowing the government had taken place – was disregarded.

Mr. Mirzayev consistently denied advocating violence, and the courts failed to demonstrate that his statements met the legal threshold required under Article 281.2. Instead, oppositional political speech in closed messaging groups was reinterpreted as a serious state-security offence.

His case forms part of a broader pattern of repression against AXCP/PFPA members in Azerbaijan, where both prominent figures and rank-and-file activists are targeted through politically motivated prosecutions aimed at suppressing dissent and deterring political participation.

International observers and independent reporting regard the charges as fabricated and politically motivated.

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