Former Diplomat Emin Ibrahimov's Arrest Extended for Another Two Months

The Nizami District Court of Baku has extended the pretrial detention of former diplomat Emin Ibrahimov for another two months, his lawyer, Aghil Laidj, told Turan. The defense considers the court's decision unjustified. According to the lawyer, no investigative actions have been carried out with Ibrahimov. There has been no confrontation with the person whom the former diplomat allegedly injured with a knife.

Ibrahimov himself stated in court that he does not expect justice from a legal system in which an expert report "discovered" his fingerprints on a knife he has never seen. The defense plans to appeal the decision to extend Ibrahimov’s detention.

Emin Ibrahimov was arrested on July 22. He has been charged under Articles 126.2.4 (intentional infliction of serious harm to health out of hooligan motives) and 221 (hooliganism) of the Criminal Code of Azerbaijan. These charges carry a potential sentence of up to 11 years in prison.

On July 24, the court placed him in custody for four months. In protest, Ibrahimov went on a hunger strike. He believes that the real reason for his arrest is his criticism of the authorities.

Emin Ibrahimov previously worked in the Azerbaijani Ministry of Foreign Affairs. From 2012 to 2016, he served as the second secretary at the Azerbaijani Embassy in the United States, and from 2016 to 2020, he was the chargé d'affaires of Azerbaijan in Uruguay. He later resigned from the diplomatic service due to disagreement with the government’s policies. Since then, he  began to criticize the authorities on social media.