Date of Birth: 12 February 1978
Detained Since: 6 July 2018
Affiliation: No formal political affiliation; self-employed resident of Ganja; prosecuted in connection with the 2018 Ganja case involving Yunis Safarov.

Charges:

• Attempted aggravated murder (Arts. 29, 120.2.1, 120.2.3, 120.2.4, 120.2.7 and 120.2.11)
• Preparation for terrorism (Arts. 28, 214.2.1, 214.2.3 and 214.2.6)
• Terrorism committed by an organized group, with weapons and on grounds of religious hostility, radicalism or fanaticism (Arts. 214.2.1, 214.2.3 and 214.2.6)
• Illegal acquisition, transfer, sale, storage, transportation or carrying of firearms, ammunition, explosives or explosive devices by an organized group (Art. 228.3)
• Illegal manufacture or repair of firearms or manufacture of ammunition, explosives or explosive devices by an organized group (Art. 229.3)
• Illegal acquisition, storage, transportation or carrying of narcotics with intent to sell in aggravated circumstances (Art. 234.4.3; later reclassified to Art. 234.1)
• Preparation for an attack on the life of a State or public figure (Arts. 28 and 277)
• Attack on the life of a State or public figure (Art. 277)
• Forcible seizure or retention of State power or alteration of the constitutional order (Art. 278)
• Forcible alteration of the constitutional order or seizure of power on grounds of religious hostility, radicalism or fanaticism (Art. 278.2)
• Participation in attacks by an unlawful armed formation or group resulting in death or other grave consequences (Art. 279.3)
• Public calls directed against the State in aggravated circumstances (Art. 281.3)

Conviction and Sentence:

On 16 August 2021, the Baku Assize Court found Hamlet Abdullayev guilty and sentenced him to a final term of 19 years’ imprisonment in a strict-regime penitentiary institution. The Baku Court of Appeal upheld the judgment on 15 April 2022, and the Supreme Court rejected the cassation appeals on 3 May 2024.

Political Prisoner Status:

His imprisonment meets criteria (c) and (e) of PACE Resolution 1900 (2012):

• (c) The 19-year sentence appears clearly disproportionate to the conduct individually and reliably established against him. He did not participate directly in Safarov’s attack and evidence indicated that he had actually attempted to prevent it.
• (e) The proceedings were affected by serious fair-trial deficiencies, including disputed investigative statements, contested weapons evidence, an unsupported aggravated narcotics accusation, unresolved contradictions and insufficient individualization of criminal responsibility within the broader conspiracy case.

Summary:

Hamlet Abdullayev is an Azerbaijani citizen and self-employed resident of Ganja who has stated that he has had a first-degree disability since birth. He was detained on 6 July 2018, three days after Yunis Safarov’s attack on the then head of the Ganja City Executive Authority, Elmar Valiyev. Although Abdullayev did not participate in the shooting, the prosecution accused him of belonging to the same organized terrorist group as Safarov.

A particularly important contradiction concerned Abdullayev’s attitude toward the planned attack. He acknowledged that Safarov had told him he intended to kill Valiyev, but stated that he and another defendant went to Safarov’s father-in-law and asked him to intervene to prevent the attack. The judgment itself recorded that Abdullayev did not agree with Safarov’s plan and informed his father-in-law about it.

Serious concerns also arose regarding the evidence. Abdullayev stated that he signed investigative documents without reading them to avoid pressure. Weapons allegedly discovered in his home were disputed: an attesting witness admitted that he had not actually seen the weapons being recovered and even incorrectly described Abdullayev’s apartment as a detached house. The court also found no evidence that heroin allegedly found on Abdullayev was intended for sale and reduced the aggravated narcotics charge to simple possession.

Mr. Abdullayev’s case is regarded as part of the broader pattern of politically instrumental prosecutions arising from the 2018 Ganja events. Historical allegations, disputed statements and contested physical evidence were combined to attribute to him responsibility for a broad terrorist and anti-State conspiracy, despite evidence that he had sought to prevent Safarov’s attack. Azerbaijani human-rights defenders continue to list Hamlet Abdullayev as a political prisoner.

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