Two opposition members have been detained in Azerbaijan.
Law enforcement officers detained a member of the opposition party Azerbaijan Popular Front, Elmaddin Muradov, in Baku; he has been sentenced to administrative arrest. Matanat Turan was detained in the Absheron district.
As reported by "Caucasian Knot", the persecution of members of the opposition party Azerbaijan Popular Front (APF) continues in Azerbaijan. Thus, on the morning of October 6, party member Anar Guseynov was detained near his home in Baku. People in civilian clothes took the opposition member away in an unknown direction. Only on the evening of October 7 did his party colleagues learn that Guseynov had been taken to the police, and then the court sentenced him to 20 days of administrative arrest. Colleagues called the arrest politically motivated.
The Azerbaijan Popular Front Party announced on October 14 the detention of two opposition members by law enforcement officers, Meydan TV reports today on its website.
According to the APF, one of the detainees is Elmaddin Muradov, a member of the party's branch in the Narimanov district of Baku. He has been sentenced to 30 days of administrative arrest. The APF states that Muradov did not commit any offenses.
On October 13, another representative of the party, Matanat Turan, was taken to the police station in the Absheron district of Azerbaijan. Other details are unknown to her party colleagues, the publication states.
It is worth noting that in November 2025, employees of the State Security Service detained the leader of the Azerbaijan Popular Front Party, Ali Kerimli, and his advisor, Mamed Ibrahim. Both opposition members were arrested and charged under Article 278.1 of the Criminal Code of Azerbaijan . They rejected the charges, and Kerimli called his criminal case political persecution.
In 2025, Azerbaijani authorities intensified repression against the Azerbaijan Popular Front Party, culminating in the arrests of Ali Kerimli and his associates, the APF stated.
The APF has become a target for the Azerbaijani authorities due to its consistent struggle against the strengthening of authoritarianism and corruption in the country. Moreover, there is no other party in Azerbaijan that has also been "permanently subjected to pressure, persecution, and repression" over the past 20 years, said Jamil Hasanli, chairman of the National Council of Democratic Forces, to the "Caucasian Knot".
The number of political prisoners in Azerbaijan reached a peak in 2024, marking 23 years of the country's membership in the Council of Europe, according to a report by the "Caucasian Knot" "Main points about the record number of political prisoners in Azerbaijan". At the same time, the Azerbaijani authorities deny the existence of political prisoners in the country.