Mammad Alpay (Mammadzade) – Head of the Election Monitoring Alliance Arrested: 14 March 2025 Charge: Articles 193-1.3.2 (Legalization of money or other property obtained by crime, committed in large amount); 308.2 (Abusing official powers, which caused grave consequences) and 313 (Official forgery) of the Criminal Code of the Azerbaijan Republic.
On 14 March 2025, the Baku City Binagadi District Court issued a ruling: to satisfy the investigator's petition to elect a measure of restraint in the form of arrest and impose on Mammad Alpay (Mammadzade) a measure of restraint in the form of arrest for a period of 3 months and 28 days.
The period of detention in custody during the investigation has been subsequently extended times Place of detention: Pre-trial Detention Center № 1 at the Kyurdakhani settlement in Baku City Sabunchu District Conclusion: 42 In early March 2025, the pro-government media announced that the General Prosecutor's Office had initiated the criminal proceedings against those non-governmental organisations in Azerbaijan that had received grants on behalf of Western international donors in previous years.
According to the General Prosecutor's Office, the funds from the grants received on behalf of the international organisations were spent ‘to undermine socio-political stability’ under the pretext of ‘legal protection’ of vulnerable population groups, as well as to promote an anti-war ideology, LGBT propaganda and other ‘ultra-liberals’ , and conduct counter-narratives against mind-set-values.
One of them was Mammad Alpay (Mammadzadeh), arrested on 14 March 2025.
Since 2010, he has been working in the sphere of electoral observation, promotion of democratic participation and civil society development.
Over that time, Mammad Alpay (Mammadzadeh) participated in the Azerbaijani and foreign election monitoring missions, working as an international observer in Norway, Ukraine, Georgia, Slovakia, Montenegro, and Hungary.
At the trial, he denied all charges and stated that the criminal case was connected to his legal and human rights activities.
