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Eight-Year Prison Sentence Sought for Civil Activist Detained in NGO Case

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Prosecutors in Azerbaijan have requested an eight-year prison sentence for social worker Zamin Zaki, who is currently detained as part of a criminal investigation involving local and international non-governmental organizations (NGOs). The request was announced during a hearing held on March 4 at the Baku Court for Serious Crimes, chaired by Judge Elmin Rustamov.

According to the prosecutor, the charges brought against Zaki under Articles 193-1 (money laundering), 308 (abuse of official authority), and 313 (official forgery) of the Criminal Code have been confirmed during the trial.

The defendant denies the accusations and states that he is being punished for his civic activities. His lawyer, Gunay Ismayilova, requested additional time to prepare the defense statement, and the court adjourned the hearing until March 11.

Case materials refer to the alleged failure to register grant funds received for organizing training programs and defending the rights of different social groups. The defense argues that presenting grant funding as “illegally obtained property” is unfounded and that, at most, failure to register grants could constitute an administrative offense.

Arrests in the so-called “NGO case” began in March 2024. At that time, Bashir Suleymanli, head of the Institute for Civil Rights, and Mammad Alpay, executive director of the Election Monitoring Alliance, were detained. A month later, Zamin Zaki and two other NGO representatives—Asef Ahmadov and Ahmad Mammad-zade—were also arrested.

Around ten additional civil society activists have been charged in the case but remain free under alternative preventive measures during the investigation and trial. Among them are Hafiz Hasanov, head of the Law and Development Public Association, Mehriban Rahimli, former Azerbaijan adviser to the German Marshall Fund (GMF), and Galib Bayramov, head of the Economic Research Center. Their trials are ongoing in separate proceedings.

In addition, arrest warrants have been issued in connection with the case for Subhan Hasanli, head of the Social Rights Center, who is currently abroad, and civic activist Aytac Agazade.