FƏRİD MEHRALIZADƏ
İqtisadçı və tədqiqat qrupunun keçmiş rəhbəri, müstəqil iqtisadi təhlillərinə və hökumətin siyasətini tənqid etdiyinə görə mübahisəli ittihamlarla hazırda həbsdədir.
About Farid Mehralizadeh
Farid Mehralizade was born on 22 November 1994 in Baku. In 2016, he graduated from the Azerbaijan State University of Economics with a bachelor’s degree in finance. From 2017 to 2019, he pursued his master’s degree in economic policy at Istanbul University. In the interim, from 2016 to 2017, he completed military service.
After completing his master’s studies in Turkey, Farid Mehralizade began working in the banking sector in Azerbaijan. He also worked as an economic expert, researcher, and financial analyst in the private sector and media. He was the head of a “Business Research Division” at a local bank in Azerbaijan.
Mehralizade was known for analysing statistical data from various government agencies and conveying the actual situation behind the numbers to the public in simple terms. Due to this, he was frequently invited as an expert to TV channels under government control, where he discussed various socio-economic topics.
Farid Mehralizade, an economist, conducted research and provided expert analysis focusing primarily on economic policy, sustainable development, social policy, regional issues, and income inequality. His work was published across various media outlets and platforms, and he has contributed to the educational platform Akinchi since 2020, and during recent years collaborated as an investigative journalist with Radio Liberty.
On 30 May 2024, Farid Mehralizade was detained in connection with a criminal case involving Abzas Media. His apartment and car were searched, but nothing significant about the case was found. Nevertheless, the police seized his car, which has not yet been returned to his family. The vehicle has been impounded.
Case description
On the day of his arrest, Mehralizade was abducted near a Baku metro station by unidentified men who placed a bag over his head and took him to a police station.
On 1 June 2024, a Baku court remanded him initially by charging him with ‘conspiring to smuggle foreign currency’ (Criminal Code Article 206.3.2) in connection with the case against Abzas Media, an outlet he did not work for directly. On 19 August 2024, the prosecution amended the charges against Mehralizade and included ‘illegal entrepreneurship, money laundering, tax evasion, and document forgery.’
On 9 September 2025, the Baku Court on Grave Crimes convicted Meralizade and sentenced him to nine years in prison.
The 30-year-old economist rejects all the charges. He claims his arrest is illegal and believes he is being punished for his research and analyses. Farid maintains that he has no connection to “Abzas Media”, yet the criminal case is linked to his detention, which he finds absurd. “Abzas Media” also has a statement confirming that they have never associated with Farid Mehralizade.
Resources about Farid Mehralizade
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