Famous Azerbaijani opposition member who lives in London detained in Turkey

Azerbaijani oppositionist Gurban Mammadov, who lives in London and was put on the international wanted list by Interpol, has been detained by Turkish law enforcement. Baku officially accuses him of ‘calling for the overthrow of the government.’

The detention of the owner of the popular YouTube opposition channel AzeriFreedom Mammadov’s son Qoshqar reported that the owner of the popular YouTube opposition channel AzeriFreedom had been arrested.

• Who will decide oppositionist Yagublu’s fate: the Azerbaijani public or external forces?

On September 8, 2020, the Prosecutor General’s Office of Azerbaijan published information about the accusation of Gurban Mammadov and several other Azerbaijani oppositionists living in Europe under two articles of the criminal code. The essence of these articles boils down to calls for a violent seizure of power and active disobedience of the authorities.

The Nasimi District court in Baku made the decision to arrest them and had their names put on the international wanted list.

After the recent marriage scandal in Azerbaijan and a sharp change in the attitude of the authorities towards the “éminence grise” Ramiz Mehdiyev in August 2020, the country’s pro-government media published a list of real estate in Baku owned by opposition leader Gurban Mammadov. It is alleged that Mammadov received these apartments and non-residential premises from Mehdiyev as a token of gratitude for his opposition activities abroad.

A few days after this news broke, the houses and non-residential areas indicated in the list were demolished. Mammadov’s relatives living there were evicted, and the buildings themselves were destroyed.