Diplomats were not allowed into the court for the case of Ali Kerimli in Baku.

The hearings on the merits of the case against the leader of the Azerbaijan Popular Front Party, Ali Kerimli, and party presidium member Mamed Ibrahim began in the Baku Serious Crimes Court. The process is taking place behind closed doors and without the admission of diplomats, a representative of the party, Ayaz Magerramli, told the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent.

As reported by "Caucasian Knot", in November 2025, employees of the State Security Service of Azerbaijan detained the leader of the APFP, Ali Kerimli, and his advisor, Mamed Ibrahim. Both opposition figures were arrested and charged under Article 278.1 of the Criminal Code of Azerbaijan (actions aimed at the violent seizure of power or the violent change of the constitutional order of the state). They rejected the charges, and Kerimli called his criminal case political persecution. A preparatory hearing in the case of Kerimli and Ibrahim took place on November 3 in the Baku Serious Crimes Court. The hearing was closed, and supporters of the accused were not only barred from entering the courtroom but were also prevented from gathering outside the courthouse.

Today, hearings on the merits of the case against the chairman of the Azerbaijan Popular Front Party, Ali Kerimli, and party presidium member Mamed Ibrahim began in the Baku Serious Crimes Court. The process is taking place behind closed doors, a representative of the party, Ayaz Magerramli, told the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent.

According to Magerramli, as during the preparatory hearing on November 3, the police restricted access for party supporters to the courthouse. "Back then, we could at least approach the courthouse, and we were pushed away from there. Today, however, all approaches were blocked. Party members managed to gather 500–700 meters away from the building," he said, suggesting that the authorities are trying to prevent spontaneous protests outside the court and to avoid demonstrating public support for the accused," he said.

The representative of the APFP also noted that the process is taking place in a closed format, and the lawyers are bound by a non-disclosure agreement. "All we managed to learn about today's hearing: it took place without the participation of any observers, including foreign diplomats," Magerramli stated. He does not have information on whether Ali Kerimli testified at this hearing.

Another source in the party, speaking on condition of anonymity, reported that on November 13, the indictment was announced in court, and two witnesses were questioned. According to him, Ali Kerimli again stated that if the process continues in a closed format, he will refuse to participate or at least will not testify.

Commenting on the party's work under the conditions of its leader's arrest, Magerramli reminded that the APFP has been operating under restrictions for the past 20 years. "Since 2006, the organization has not had a headquarters, and since 2019, the city authorities have stopped approving its rallies," Magerramli said. In the last three years, according to him, legal difficulties have also arisen: the Ministry of Justice and the court did not recognize the results of the 2023 congress and ordered a new one to be held.

On July 5, 2024, a court in Baku invalidated the results of the APFP congress held a year earlier. The basis for this was a complaint from a former party member. The leadership of the APFP believes that the authorities are using this person to deny the party leader recognition as its legitimate leader.

"We formed an organizing committee to hold the congress, but we could not hold it because we were denied access to venues. Therefore, the organizing committee is currently considered the authorized body of the party, although in the media, party members are still referred to by their positions in the presidium, the Supreme Majlis, which they held before 2023," explained Magerramli, who was the deputy chairman of the party before the congress and is now part of the organizing committee.

According to him, out of 18 members of the organizing committee, Ali Kerimli and Mamed Ibrahim are under arrest, and Fuad Gahramanly is in exile. At the same time, Magerramli claims that the APFP retains state registration, district branches across the country, and annually submits to the Ministry of Justice the legally required minimum list of 5,000 members. However, the party does not publish the list of party members in the public domain. The main political activity of the party is currently conducted on social media, Magerramli said.

The latest case of the arrest of a party activist he mentioned was the detention of Elnur Yusubov. "The person left home yesterday to go to work and disappeared. Only today it became known that Elnur Yusubov was administratively arrested for 30 days. Of course, the real reason for the arrest was not any administrative offense he committed, but his activity on social media, critical posts about the authorities. He has previously been subjected to administrative arrests for his activity on social media and participation in protest actions," Magerramli further pointed out.

Currently, another member of the APFP, Mirjamir Agaev, is under administrative arrest, who was detained for 30 days after he criticized on social media the actions of the police against opposition members who came to the preparatory court hearing in the case of Kerimli. In total, Magerramli added, since the beginning of 2026, 22 members of the APFP have been subjected to administrative arrests. Another 21 members of the APFP are held in prisons on fabricated criminal charges. "The latest case of such an arrest on politically motivated and fabricated charges was the detention for three months of our activist Matanat Turan, who, being a believer, protested against the ban on hijabs in schools," Magerramli said.

He noted that despite the arrest of Ali Kerimli, the party organizations of the APFP remain in all regions of the country. "Despite the nitpicking regarding the decisions of the last congress and the demand for a new congress, the party remains within the legal framework and retains state registration. According to the new law on parties, we annually submit to the Ministry of Justice the required minimum list of 5,000 party members," Magerramli said.

"The APFP attracts the protest part of society thanks to Kerimli's personal authority"

Member of the Azerbaijan National Public Committee for Eurointegration, Toghrul Juvarly, noted in a conversation with a correspondent of the "Caucasian Knot" that in post-Soviet Azerbaijan, political parties are generally built on the personal authority of their leaders.

"The APFP is not an exception in this regard, but rather a vivid example of it. Yes, of course, members of this organization, which is the successor of the Popular Front from the late 1980s to the early 1990s, consolidate around the ideas of national freedom, commitment to universal democratic values. But at the same time, the party attracts the most protest part of society thanks to the personal authority of Ali Kerimli, his consistent uncompromising position towards the current government of Azerbaijan for more than 20-23 years," Juvarly said.

"Ali Kerimli possesses extraordinary oratory skills. And if he cannot hold rallies and directly address the masses in person, then in the age of the Internet, he can do this through platforms on social media," Juvarly said.

A similar opinion was expressed in a conversation with a correspondent of the "Caucasian Knot" by another analyst. "Ali Kerimli is to the ruling regime of Azerbaijan what pro-government commentators call 'radical opposition.' At least, he has indeed been in uncompromising opposition for the last 20-25 years and openly states that he seeks a change of regime, albeit with the caveat that this should happen peacefully, democratically, through fair elections. In the protest part of society, even under extremely limited opportunities for opposition activity, he is quite popular. It is no coincidence that since 2020 he has been deprived of access to stationary and mobile internet, and consequently the ability to hold live broadcasts through social media. In recent years, all his speeches and interviews have been prepared and aired in recorded form," said the interlocutor, who wished to remain anonymous.

According to him, in order to pressure Kerimli, periodic arrests of APFP members were carried out, and they were demanded to testify against the party leader. "However, despite the deprivation of his passport, access to the internet, for a long time, Ali Kerimli personally was not subjected to arrest, except for a brief detention at a rally in 2019. But apparently, in the current geopolitically tangled situation in the world, conditions have matured for his arrest, as the opposition in Azerbaijan has lost support from the West. The Trump administration stopped responding to human rights issues in other countries, as Americans themselves say, if it does not affect US interests. The European Union, on the other hand, found itself in an energy dependence on Azerbaijan," noted the analyst.

In his opinion, the Azerbaijani authorities do not see the point in depriving the APFP of state registration: "State registration of the party, if they have no resources, has no significance. There are many other ways to pressure parties, including mechanisms for persecuting activists on administrative and criminal charges," said the interlocutor.