The prosecutor demanded long sentences for Anar Mamedli and Anar Abdullayev.
The prosecution requested 14 years of imprisonment for the head of the Election Monitoring and Democracy Training Center Anar Mamedli and 13 years for freelance journalist Anar Abdullayev in a case of illegal entrepreneurship, money laundering, and tax evasion. The defense insists that the criminal prosecution is unfounded and the charges are not supported by evidence.
As reported by "Caucasian Knot", on September 22, 2025, at a court session in Baku, the head of the Election Monitoring and Democracy Training Center (EMDTC) Anar Mamedli delivered a defense speech. He pointed out to the court the political nature of his prosecution and compared it to the practices of Soviet repression. At the court session in Baku on March 2, the head of the organization "Election Observation" testified in the case of human rights defender Anar Mamedli and journalist Anar Abdullayev. He did not confirm the prosecution's version regarding smuggling.
Anar Mamedli was detained in Baku on April 29, 2024, and arrested on charges of smuggling in connection with the case of employees of the Abzas Media publication. Later, his case was separated into a separate proceeding. In May 2025, new charges were brought against Mamedli: illegal entrepreneurship, money laundering of illegally obtained property, tax evasion as part of an organized group, and document forgery. The case has been sent to court, and the defense insists on Mamedli's innocence. Freelance journalist Anar Abdullayev (Abdullayev) is also charged in Mamedli's case.
On July 24, at the Baku Serious Crimes Court, the prosecutor delivered a closing statement in the case of Anar Mamedli and Anar Abdullayev.
"The prosecutor proposed to exclude the charge of 'document forgery' from the case materials. He explained this by stating that the examination did not establish the ownership of the signatures in the case materials to the accused individuals. At the same time, the prosecutor advocated for the recognition of Anar Mamedli and Anar Abdullayev as guilty on other counts of the charges. The prosecutor requested the court to sentence Anar Mamedli to 14 years of imprisonment and Anar Abdullayev to 13 years of imprisonment," said an observer of the process activist.
According to the source, the prosecutor also proposed to prohibit both defendants from holding positions in state and municipal bodies for three years after their release from custody.
The activist called the case against Mamedli and Abdullayev politically motivated, pointing out that both defendants participated in the implementation of projects of independent civil society institutions.
Mamedli's lawyer – Elchin Sadigov told the correspondent of "Caucasian Knot" that the defense disagrees with the prosecution's position and will insist on an acquittal.
According to him, no credible evidence of Mamedli's guilt has been presented.
"Anar Mamedli was initially detained on charges of smuggling without any grounds. He was not caught red-handed at the border. Moreover, each time he crossed the border, he was subjected to customs inspection and submitted declarations. The case claims that he received income through criminal means, but it does not clarify what specific crime is being referred to. All accusations are based on subjective conclusions rather than credible facts," said the lawyer.
Abdullayev's lawyer Gyunai Ismayilova also pointed out the unfounded nature of the charges against her client and stated that she would ask the court to acquit the activist.
An employee of the Baku Serious Crimes Court told the correspondent of "Caucasian Knot" that the next court session will take place on August 7.
Representatives of the prosecution were unavailable for comment.
The prosecution of Anar Mamedli aims to silence him and punish him as a civil society activist, previously stated the rapporteur on political prisoners of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe Azadeh Rozhan.
Earlier, activists of the international campaign to end repression in Azerbaijan, on the eve of the second anniversary of Anar Mamedli's arrest, also called for the release of the human rights defender.