Sign the petition | Freedom for Ahmad and Afiaddin! End tyranny in Azerbaijan!

Socialist May 13, 2025 04:14 103

An international signature campaign was launched demanding the immediate release of Ahmad Mammadli and Afiaddin Mammadov and all political prisoners in Azerbaijan.

In Azerbaijan, the Aliyev regime tortured and imprisoned Ahmad Mammadli—a leftist journalist, unionist, and human rights activist—on fabricated charges of "intentional injury" on May 7. Additionally, Afiaddin Mammadov has been sentenced to eight years in prison based on false allegations.

We, the undersigned organizations, demand the immediate release of Ahmad Mammadli and Afiaddin Mammadov, along with all political prisoners.

Mammadli had been under open and intense pressure for a long time. Mammadli’s family draws attention to the danger of being held in prison for a long time under the pretext of being tried in pretrial detention, as is the case with many dissidents, and reminds that Mammadli’s close comrade Afiaddin Mammadov was recently sentenced to 8 years in prison. The Aliyev regime in Azerbaijan employs tactics such as portraying opposition members as criminals for drug use, extortion, and injury, thus both slandering and silencing their voices. Mammadli was also arrested on charges of “intentional injury.”

The decision to continue the detention of opposition leader Tofig Yagublu, who was sentenced to 9 years in prison and has been on hunger strike since April 1, was made at the hearing on May 6. It is known that Tofig Yagublu has been unable to even drink water recently. It is unclear whether Tofig Yagublu will survive until the next hearing on May 20. The government, which is extremely disturbed by Yagublu being on the public agenda, detained journalists Ahmed Mammadli and Ülviyye Ali late at night on May 6 after they followed Yagublu's hearing.

Ahmad Mammadli has been an opposition figure who has been fighting for years in Azerbaijan, first with the student movement and then with workers' rights, and who became the general chairman of the D-18 party, which dissolved itself in 2023. He had also had his share of the increasing pressure in Azerbaijan for years, with bans on traveling abroad and detentions. The Aliyev regime, which has vowed not to leave any light in the country, is now trying Ahmad Mammadli for a serious crime. The crime of "intentional injury" was alleged regarding Mammadli, who was detained illegally by the police. It is alleged that Mammadli stabbed a person in the stomach because of a problem they had in a taxi. After his detention, Mammadli was tortured with electric shocks because they wanted to get his phone password, and was not given food for 3 days, his lawyer and family announced.

A 4-month detention decision was made for Ahmad Mammadli in court. This practice is a kind of psychological torture of the Aliyev regime. During the months of detention, the oppositionists who are brought to court have their trials postponed and are held without an indictment for months or even years.

Previously, Afiaddin Mammadov, one of the left leaders of the D-18 party, was also arrested on false charges of “stabbing” in 2023 and sentenced to 8 years in prison. At the same time, the leading workers of the "Workers' Table" union, which Ahmad Mammadli and Afiaddin Mammadov founded together, were also sentenced to 3 years in prison, along with Afiaddin Mammadov. The union had organized motorcycle couriers in Azerbaijan and organized strikes. During the Karabakh war, Mammadov and Mammadli had been kidnapped, detained, and imprisoned for opposing the expulsion of the Armenian people from the region and chauvinist war policies.

Azerbaijan, which has been under the rule of the Aliyev dynasty, can only govern with chauvinism and oppression. In the impoverished country where corruption is at its peak, the pressure on the opposition has increased significantly, especially since the Karabakh war in 2020. There are more than 350 political prisoners in the country. The regime, which has been conducting a serious witch hunt, especially against the press, in the last two years, has raided many independent media institutions and arrested many journalists and activists.

We hear the voice of the Azeri people who are groaning under the tyranny of Aliyev, whose rich resources are being plundered by the oligarchs, and who are left alone in deep poverty! The severe repression faced by the Azerbaijani people and dissidents is orchestrated solely for the benefit of a select group of wealthy elites and authoritarian rulers.

Ahmad and Afiaddin must be released without delay, and the baseless accusations against these courageous young fighters who stand for the interests of the working class must be retracted!

Immediate freedom for Ahmad and Afiaddin!
Down with the tyranny in Azerbaijan!