Court Review: June 1-3, 2026

Court Proceedings Involving Politicians, Civil Society Representatives, and Journalists

1) On June 1, the next hearing in the case of Popular Front Party member Kenan Zeynalov (Basgal) was held at the Baku Court for Grave Crimes under the chairmanship of Judge Mahira Karimova

During the hearing, lawyer Nazim Musayev stated that there were grounds to believe that Anar Rahimov, who had been recognized as the victim, had acted in collusion with police officers. Accordingly, he filed a motion requesting that the court obtain information regarding whom A. Rahimov had spoken to by telephone on the day of the incident and prior to it.

He further noted that the forensic examination report mentioned one knife wound sustained by A. Rahimov, whereas in his testimony he had claimed to have received four to five knife wounds. According to the defense, these contradictions should be clarified.

K. Zeynalov stated that the case was politically motivated.

None of the motions submitted by N. Musayev were granted.

The next hearing was scheduled for June 25.

2) On June 1, the first hearing in the case of public activist and English language teacher Dayanat Chalabiyev was held at the Baku Court for Grave Crimes under the chairmanship of Judge Mahira Karimova

The state prosecutor announced the indictment. According to the charges, in December 2025 D. Chalabiyev stabbed an individual named Mirsahib Khudaverdizade following a dispute between them.

Dayanat Chalabi rejected the accusations, pleaded not guilty, and stated that the criminal case had been fabricated in advance according to a predetermined scenario.

The next hearing was scheduled for June 25.

3) On June 3, proceedings continued at the Baku Court for Grave Crimes under the chairmanship of Judge Eldar Ismayilov in the case of Hafiz Hasanov, Chairman of the Law and Development Public Union

During the hearing, documents related to the criminal case were examined.

Court Proceedings Related to Corruption and State Institutions

1) On June 1, the Baku Court of Appeal reviewed the complaint of Zulfuqar Mansurov, former Deputy Head of the Department for Control over State Property Management and Efficient Use under the State Service for Property Issues of the Ministry of Economy

The hearing was presided over by Judge Aqil Musayev.

The court annulled the decision extending his detention, ordered the release of Zulfuqar Mansurov from custody, and returned the criminal case for preliminary investigation.

Z. Mansurov had been arrested in November 2025 following an operation conducted by the Anti-Corruption Directorate under the Prosecutor General at the Garadagh District Executive Authority.

According to the Prosecutor General’s Office, former Deputy Head of the Garadagh District Executive Authority Nadir Muradov, Gafar Abdullayev, acting head of the district economy department, employees Rashad Nadirli and Isa Shamsaliyev, and Zulfuqar Mansurov allegedly formed a criminal group. They are accused of accepting bribes from various individuals in exchange for carrying out preliminary land registration procedures and securing state registration of ownership rights over land plots located in the Garadagh district of Baku.

Nadir Muradov, Gafar Abdullayev, Rashad Nadirli, Isa Shamsaliyev, and Zulfuqar Mansurov have been charged under Articles 311.3.1, 311.3.2, and 311.3.3 of the Criminal Code of Azerbaijan, relating to repeated acceptance of large-scale bribes by a group of persons acting in prior collusion.

2) On June 1, the state prosecutor spoke during a hearing at the Baku Court for Grave Crimes in the case of Emil Agajanov, who is accused of murder

The hearing was chaired by Judge Sabina Mammadzade.

The prosecutor requested that Emil Agajanov be exempted from punishment and that specialized compulsory medical treatment be imposed on him.

The victim’s lawyer and legal representative opposed this request and asked that the case be returned for further investigation.

According to the court's ruling, the defendant suffers from mental illness and committed the act while in a state of insanity. Therefore, he was ordered to be transferred to an inpatient medical institution for compulsory treatment. Due to his drug addiction, compulsory treatment for narcotics dependence was also ordered.

Emil Agajanov was the owner of Chermington Transportation Services LLC, AZRENT LLC, Caspi Style LLC, and the Italian brand store YAMAMAY located in Port Baku.

The victim, Irada Muradova, worked as Executive Director of the YAMAMAY store.

The murder occurred on August 23, 2025, in the Yasamal district of Baku. The body of Irada Muradova was found naked in the bathtub of an apartment belonging to Emil Agajanov. Preliminary investigations established that she had been murdered with particular cruelty by Emil Agajanov.

3) On June 2, another hearing was held at the Baku Court for Grave Crimes in the criminal case involving former Deputy Chief of the Air Transport Police Department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, Colonel Rasim Ildirimzade, Chairman of the World Azerbaijanis Public Education Center and founder of the Bakutime.az website Zaur Mirzazada, and former Chairman of the Balakan Constituency Election Commission Goshgar Mammadov

The hearing was chaired by Judge Fakhri Mammadov.

Defendant Zaur Mirzazada once again failed to appear.

The court ordered that he be brought to the proceedings by force.

The trial will continue on June 16.

4) On June 2, the Narimanov District Court reviewed a complaint filed by lawyer Parviz Mammadov against the Azerbaijan Land Transport Agency (AYNA)

The hearing was chaired by Judge Nargiz Taghiyeva.

In his claim, Parviz Mammadov stated that he had parked his vehicle on Bulbul Avenue in Baku and paid the parking fee through the AzParking system. However, he was subsequently fined 20 manats by traffic police officers on the grounds that stopping and parking were prohibited in that area.

The lawyer argued that since the location had been presented as a paid parking zone, the 2-manat parking fee charged to his account should also be considered unjustified. Therefore, he filed a lawsuit against AYNA seeking reimbursement of the payment.

AYNA's representative rejected the claim. During the hearing, the representative argued that because the vehicle had in fact been parked in the area, the parking fee had been collected legally. On that basis, the agency requested that the claim be dismissed.

The court found the lawyer's claim justified. As a result, AYNA was ordered to reimburse Parviz Mammadov 2 manats in parking fees and an additional 30 manats representing the state fee paid for filing the lawsuit.

5) .On June 3, proceedings continued at the Baku Court for Grave Crimes in the criminal case related to the fire at the Republican Perinatal Center that resulted in the deaths of infants

The hearing was chaired by Judge Leyla Asgarova-Mammadova.

The defendants are former Director of the center Mehriban Abasguliyeva and department heads Elnur Ahmadli and Hamlet Mustafayev.

During the hearing, Mehriban Abasguliyeva was given the opportunity to deliver her final statement. However, she stated that she was not prepared, and the proceedings were postponed until 2:00 p.m.

It was later reported that Abasguliyeva had experienced health problems and had been hospitalized.

The judge warned the defendant's lawyer and noted that if the defendant failed to attend the next hearing, the preventive measure imposed on her could be changed.

The next hearing was scheduled for June 4.

6) On June 3, another hearing was held at the Baku Court for Grave Crimes in the criminal case involving Ilgar Mustafayev, Chairman of the Board of the Seaside Boulevard Public Legal Entity, his assistant Rashad Badalov, Fuad Babayev, Director of GIRASOL LLC, and other defendants

The hearing was chaired by Judge Leyla Asgarova-Mammadova.

Witnesses testified during the session. One witness stated that he had worked in the utility services department of the Boulevard Administration since 2015 and that collected funds had been handed over to Rashad Badalov.

The next hearing was scheduled for June 17 at 10:00 a.m.

According to the preliminary investigation, while serving as Chairman of the Board of the Seaside Boulevard Public Legal Entity, Ilgar Mustafayev allegedly entered into a criminal conspiracy with his assistant Rashad Badalov, GIRASOL LLC Director Fuad Babayev, and others. They are suspected of knowingly entering false information into official documents and misappropriating more than 12 million manats generated from leasing non-residential premises, organizing commercial activities within the area, boat tours, and other activities through abuse of official powers.

In addition, investigators believe that Mustafayev evaded payment of more than 1.8 million manats in taxes and laundered more than 10 million manats in criminal proceeds by acquiring assets in his own name and in the names of relatives.

Based on the collected evidence, Ilgar Mustafayev has been charged under Articles 179.4 (large-scale embezzlement), 193-1.3.2 (money laundering on a significant scale), 213.3 (large-scale tax evasion), 308.2 (abuse of official authority causing serious consequences), and 313 (official forgery) of the Criminal Code. Fuad Babayev and Rashad Badalov have been charged under Articles 179.4, 308.2, and 313 of the Criminal Code.

7) On June 3, the Baku Court for Grave Crimes delivered its verdict in a fraud case involving Malahat Mustafayeva, Tahira Shamilova, and Tarana Jafarova

The hearing was chaired by Judge Telman Huseynov.

According to the verdict, Malahat Mustafayeva was sentenced to five years of imprisonment, while Tahira Shamilova and Tarana Jafarova each received five-year suspended prison sentences.

According to the prosecution, Tarana Jafarova, a teacher at Secondary School No. 149 in the Binə settlement, conspired with the other defendants to defraud a group of teachers.

The total damage in the criminal case amounted to 160,500 manats.

Each defendant was charged under Article 178.3.2 of the Criminal Code of Azerbaijan, which concerns fraud causing large-scale damage.

Proceedings Against Separatist Leaders

1) On June 2, the Baku Court of Appeal reviewed appeals filed against the verdict concerning Armenian citizens who previously held senior positions in the separatist regime in Karabakh

The hearing was chaired by Judge Elmar Rahimov.

The defendants include Araik Arutyunyan, Arkadi Ghukasyan, Bako Sahakyan, David Ishkhanyan, David Babayan, Levon Mnatsakanyan, and others.

David Babayan personally supported his appeal, while the remaining defendants were represented by their defense lawyers.

After reviewing the positions of the defendants, the court stated that the submitted motions would be considered at the next stage of the proceedings in accordance with legal requirements.

The defendants submitted motions requesting clarification of certain aspects of their appeals, the participation of a representative from the Office of the Commissioner for Human Rights of the Republic of Azerbaijan (Ombudsman), the questioning of witnesses, and consideration of other issues.

State prosecutor Sevinj Gasimova opposed the motions, noting that a representative of the Ombudsman’s Office is not a party to the proceedings. She stated that representatives of the institution may attend open court hearings in a public capacity. Under Azerbaijani law, the Ombudsman and representatives of the Ombudsman’s Office may visit detention facilities, examine detention conditions, and undertake preventive measures in accordance with their mandate.

The prosecutor also emphasized that a sufficient number of witnesses had already been questioned during both the preliminary investigation and the trial, and that they had reaffirmed their earlier testimony. She reminded the court that, under the law, new evidence may only be accepted at the appellate stage if valid reasons are provided explaining why it could not have been submitted during the proceedings at the court of first instance.

It was further noted that when requesting the questioning of additional witnesses, the defense was required to provide detailed identifying information about those individuals, which it had failed to do.

In addition, the prosecution stressed that the unnecessary collection of evidence should not result in delays or prolongation of the proceedings.

For these reasons, the state prosecutor asked the court not to grant the motions in order to prevent the trial from being unnecessarily extended.

The court announced that the defense motions had been partially granted.

The appellate review will continue on June 9.

According to the verdict issued by the Baku Military Court on February 5, 2026, Arayik Harutyunyan, Levon Mnatsakanyan, David Manukyan, Davit Ishkhanyan, and David Babayan were sentenced to life imprisonment.

Arkadi Ghukasyan and Bako Sahakyan were sentenced to 20 years of imprisonment each; Madat Babayan and Melikset Pashayan received 19 years each; Garik Martirosyan received 18 years; Davit Allahverdiyan and Levon Balayan received 16 years each; while Vasili Beglaryan, Gurgen Stepanyan, and Erik Ghazaryan were sentenced to 15 years of imprisonment each.

Court Proceedings Involving Individuals Accused of Treason and Separatism

1) On June 2, the Court for Grave Crimes of the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic, under the chairmanship of Judge Faiq Heydarov, delivered its verdict against Siyafat Farzaliyev, who was charged with high treason and illegal possession of components of a firearm

According to the court's decision, Siyafat Farzaliyev was sentenced to 15 years and 6 months of imprisonment.

According to the indictment, Siyafat Heydar oghlu Farzaliyev had been recruited into secret cooperation by representatives of a foreign intelligence service in exchange for material compensation. Acting on their instructions, he allegedly engaged in espionage activities against the sovereignty, territorial integrity, state security, and defense capability of the Republic of Azerbaijan, thereby committing high treason.

In addition, he was accused of intentionally and unlawfully acquiring, transporting, and storing components of a firearm.

He was detained as a result of operational and investigative measures carried out by the State Security Service and subsequently brought under criminal investigation.

Farzaliyev was charged under Article 228.1 of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Azerbaijan (illegal acquisition, transfer, sale, storage, transportation, or carrying of firearms, firearm components, ammunition, explosives, and explosive devices) and Article 274 (high treason).