Gunduz Mirzayev – member of the Popular Front Party of Azerbaijan Date of arrest: 7 March 2025 Charge: Article 281.2 (Public appeals directed against the state, committed repeatedly or by group of persons) of the Criminal Code of the Azerbaijan Republic. On 7 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 Gunzduz Mirzayev a measure of restraint in the form of arrest for a period of 2 months. The period of detention in custody during the investigation has been subsequently extended times Sentence: On 5 June 2025, the Baku City Court for Serious Crimes issued a verdict: to find Gunduz Mirzayev guilty and sentenced him to 5 years and 7 months of imprisonment with serving the sentence in a general regime penal institution. Judge: Azar Taqiyev Place of detention: Pre-trial Detention Center № 1 at the Kyurdakhani settlement in Baku City Sabunchu District Conclusion: According to Tazakhan Miralamli, a spokesperson of the PFPA press service, "A member of the PFPA Qaradaq district branch, Gunduz Mirzayev, and an activist of the same branch, Zaur Asgarov, were detained on 7 March, and the Court issued against them a measure of restraint in the form of arrest for two months. They were charged with " the public calls against the state "; they allegedly called for the seizure of power on social networks. However, it was not true. They were criticizing the government policies and merely urging the citizens to raise their protesting voices albeit on the social networking platforms. On 13 March 2025, the Court of Appeal considered their claims but left the activists in custody. The case against Mirzayev and Asgarov is politically motivated". Mirzayev's lawyer, Tahir Khanaliyev, also called the accusation against his client groundless: "In his statements on the WhatsApp-group there are no appeals either to the seizure of power, or even less to the overthrow of the constitutional structure. There is no direct urge to seize the power in Mirzayev's recordings, even less to do it by force. Accusing him of appealing to the overthrow of the “constitutional structure” is just ridiculous. He did not write anything about changing the secular nature of the State. He also emphasized the obstacles created by the investigation to meeting with his client: "The investigation hindered my meeting with the defendant without any grounds. I was unreasonably demanded to send a letter to the Prosecutor General's Office to engage me in the defense. In the end, I was able to meet my client at the Baku City Court of Appeal only on 13 March 2025, although his relatives signed a contract with me on 10 March. Therefore, I wrote the appeal complaint without having met my client, otherwise we would have missed the deadline for the appeal”. 78