Azerbaijani activist Hasanov has been found guilty in the "NGO case".
The court in Baku sentenced the head of the organization "Law and Development" Hafiz Hasanov to a suspended sentence, finding him guilty in a case concerning the activities of local and foreign NGOs.
As reported by "Caucasian Knot", on September 2, at a session of the Baku Serious Crimes Court, the prosecutor demanded that the head of the NGO "Law and Development" Hafiz Hasanov be sentenced to 9 years of imprisonment conditionally with a five-year probation period.
Hasanov was charged with the arrangement of grants received by his commercial company from donor organizations under service contracts. However, he provided specific legal services that were part of civil society projects, with funds officially received through a bank; Hasanov acted not as a public official but as an individual entrepreneur. He was charged under articles 193-1.3.2 (legalization of property obtained by criminal means in large amounts), 308.2 (abuse of official powers resulting in serious consequences), and 313 (service forgery) of the Criminal Code. In court, Hasanov rejected all charges.
Today, the final session of the criminal case against Hafiz Hasanov, accused in the "NGO case", took place at the Baku Serious Crimes Court, reports Meydan TV on its website.
The court sentenced Hasanov to eight years of imprisonment conditionally with a probation period of three years. Additionally, Hasanov is prohibited from holding positions related to material responsibility in state bodies and local self-government for two years.
The previously chosen measure of restraint for Hafiz Hasanov in the form of police supervision has been replaced with a subscription not to leave his place of residence, according to the publication.
It should be noted that Hafiz Hasanov was brought in as a defendant in the updated case against a number of local and foreign NGOs in March 2025. Initially, he was taken into custody. However, after some time, the measure of restraint was changed to house arrest.
The "NGO case" was initiated back in 2014. "At that time, there was a wave of arrests of well-known human rights defenders. Subsequently, they were released early, and the case was suspended. But in March 2025, the case was resumed, and it took on the scale of a campaign against the remnants of civil society. More than 100 people were involved in the investigation, including representatives of pro-government NGOs and employees of international donor organizations' offices," an expert in law previously said.