Azerbaijan’s Supreme Court Upholds Prison Sentences of Labor Leader and Activist

Azerbaijan’s Supreme Court on Tuesday rejected cassation appeals filed by imprisoned labor union leader Afiaddin Mammadov and civic activist Ilhamiz Guliyev, leaving their prison sentences in place.

Mammadov, chair of the “Worker’s Table” Trade Unions Confederation, was arrested on September 20, 2023. He was charged under multiple articles of the Criminal Code, including intentional infliction of serious bodily harm with hooligan intent, hooliganism involving a weapon, and illegal possession of a weapon. On January 14 last year, he was sentenced to eight years in prison.

During the Supreme Court hearing, his lawyer, Zibeyda Sadiqova, stated that nearly 20 motions had been filed in lower courts but were never examined. Mammadov himself told the court that the proceedings had not been conducted fairly.

Ilhamiz Guliyev has been in detention since December 4, 2023, on drug-related charges. The Baku Serious Crimes Court sentenced him to three years in prison. Guliyev denies the accusations, claiming they are fabricated and linked to his public criticism of authorities, including comments he gave in an interview about alleged police misconduct toward civic activists.

Human rights defenders consider both men to be political prisoners. Azerbaijani authorities, however, reject these claims, maintaining that the individuals in question were prosecuted solely for criminal offenses rather than for political reasons.

The Supreme Court’s decision exhausts the domestic legal avenues available to both defendants.