The Supreme Court of Azerbaijan rejected the cassation appeals of trade union activist Afiyaddin Mammadov and human rights defender Ilhamiz Guliyev. Therefore, their defense intends to seek a ruling against their convictions in the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR).
As a reminder, in January 2025, a Baku court sentenced Afiyaddin Mammadov, head of the alternative trade union confederation "Workers' Platform," to eight years in prison after finding him guilty of attacking a passerby with a knife. Prosecution witnesses did not confirm that he possessed a knife.
Ilhamiz Guliyev, an activist who helped internally displaced persons, was arrested in Baku in 2023 on drug trafficking charges. He denied his guilt, claiming the case was fabricated. In December 2024, the court sentenced him to three years in prison. Prior to his sentencing, Guliyev had been subjected to administrative arrests for disclosing evidence of drug plantings at the police station.
Due to the exhaustion of all domestic legal remedies, the lawyers for both activists are preparing appeals to the ECHR.
