The witness refuted the claims of the misappropriation of funds by Bashir Suleymanly.

At the trial of the head of the Institute of Civil Rights, Bashir Suleymanly, witness Mehriban Ragimli stated that the funding of projects by the American foundation, with which Azerbaijani NGOs collaborated, was carried out based on service contracts, and the projects themselves underwent audits. According to her, the prosecution's claims of ineffective use of funds are not supported by facts.

As reported by "Caucasian Knot", a case has been initiated in Azerbaijan against the head of the Human Rights Institute, Bashir Suleymanly, and activists Galib Bayramov and Nargiz Mukhtarova, who are accused in a case against "a number of local and foreign NGOs" that began back in 2014. They are charged under criminal articles for "legalization of large amounts of income obtained by criminal means," "abuse of official powers," and "official forgery," which carry penalties of up to 12 years in prison. They will appear before the court separately. On October 9, 2025, the court denied the defense's motions to terminate the criminal prosecution of activist Bashir Suleymanly or at least transfer him to house arrest.

On July 31, at the Baku Serious Crimes Court, during the trial, the head of the Institute of Civil Rights, Bashir Suleymanly, heard the testimony of activist Mehriban Ragimli, who is herself a defendant in another case and is under a measure of restraint - "under police supervision."

As a correspondent for "Caucasian Knot" reported, an activist present at the hearing? Ragimli stated that she was a representative of the American non-governmental foundation, which until 2013 allocated grants to local NGOs in Azerbaijan. Ragimli reminded that after changes were made to the legislation in 2013, restricting the activities of foreign donors, the foundation ceased to issue grants to organizations in Azerbaijan.

For financial support of projects with local partners, service contracts were concluded. According to Ragimli, she applied to the Ministry of Justice of Azerbaijan for the registration of service contracts. However, the agency responded that there was no need to register service contracts.

“Mehriban Ragimli drew the court's attention to the fact that she has a response from the head of the department of the Ministry of Justice with his signature and the seal of the Ministry of Justice. Therefore, as Ragimli emphasized, the American foundation worked with partners in Azerbaijan based on service contracts. At the same time, local activists paid taxes and other mandatory payments from their monetary rewards - contributions to the pension fund, the compulsory health insurance fund,” the source continued.

At the same time, Ragimli herself, according to her, issued conclusions on civil society projects at the foundation. She did not participate in the decision-making regarding the allocation of financial resources. For projects costing up to $30,000, the decision was made by the board of the regional representation of the American foundation; for amounts above this, the head office in the USA.

“In the projects presented by Bagir Suleymanly, Ragimli issued conclusions three times, and all these projects were for amounts less than $30,000,” the source continued recounting the trial.

Ragimli was asked about the accusation that Suleymanly "ineffectively" used financial resources.

“In this regard, Mehriban Ragimli said that strict audits were conducted on the projects, and if there had been such a thing, it would have been revealed. What is written in the accusation is a subjective assumption of the investigator, which is not based on facts. She told the judge that she herself is a defendant in a fabricated case in another matter,” the source noted further.

Bashir Suleymanly himself also stated that the financial resources were obtained legally and were spent on providing legal assistance to citizens in the regions, as well as on election monitoring.

The next hearing in Suleymanly's case is scheduled for October 1, which caused his protests. However, it was stated that the judges are going on vacation and the long break is related to this.

Ragimli confirmed to the correspondent of "Caucasian Knot" the content of the witness testimony, noting that the process in her case continues.