Bashir Suleymanli

Age: 44

Occupation: Civil society activist and chairman of the Institute for Citizens Rights

Arrested: March 14, 2025.

Charges:

  • Forgery by an official

  • Legalization of property obtained through crime

  • Abuse of official powers

Status: Detained in Pre-trial Detention Center N1

Bashir Suleymanli is the chairperson of the Institute for Citizens’ Rights, an NGO focused on strengthening the rule of law and offering free legal assistance and civic education to youth and vulnerable populations. Previously targeted for his human rights activism as a co-founder of the Election Monitoring and Democracy Studies Centre (EMDSC) with Anar Mammadli, Suleymanli was arrested in 2013 and sentenced to three and a half years in prison on fabricated charges before his release via presidential pardon in March 2015.

On March 14, 2025, Azerbaijani authorities arrested Suleymani under charges of holding illegal contracts with the German Marshall Fund and allegedly receiving funds as personal income rather than grants. The same day the Binagadi District Court ordered he be kept in pre-trial detention for three months and 28 days.

Suleymanli has denied these charges and pleaded not guilty; however, the Baku Appeal Court upheld the pre-trial detention order on March 19, 2025.