Baku court extends arrest of human rights defender Safarov

The arrest of Rufat Safarov, an Azeri human rights defender, accused of fraud, has been extended for other 20 days.

Safarov is accused of embezzling money from Natig Imamguliev, who transferred it to purchase a land plot and didn’t receive it back when the deal had failed. Safarov denied the charges and claimed that the criminal case was fabricated. On December 6, 2024, he planned to fly to the United States to receive a human rights award at a ceremony dedicated to the International Human Rights Day. On December 10, Safarov was awarded the US State Department award in absentia.

On May 31, the Binagadi District Court of Baku considered the investigators' motion to extend the Rufat Safarov’s arrest for other 20 days. The court granted the motion, Agil Laidj, Rufat’s advocate, has told the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent today.

Six months were more than enough to conduct and complete the investigation.

"The police authority justified the need to extend Rufat Safarov's arrest by the incompleteness of the investigation. We have objected, pointing out that six months were more than enough to conduct and complete the investigation into this case, in which there is only one accused person and only one victim. But if investigators so desperately need more time, then they can work without keeping Safarov in custody. Unfortunately, the court has neglected our arguments and extended Safarov's arrest until June 23," the advocate has explained, adding that the defence intends to file an appeal against the court ruling.

An employee of the Binagadi District Court has confirmed to the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent the information about the extension of Safarov's arrest. Officials of the investigating body were inaccessible for comments.

This was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on June 1, 2025 at 10:44 am MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.