AHMAD MAMMADLI
Chairperson of the now defunct Democracy 1918 Movement; founder of Yoldash Media, a digital media platform documenting labour rights violations and political repression; imprisoned under bogus charges.
About Ahmad Mammadli
Ahmad Mammadli, a journalist and human rights activist, has a history of being active in student groups, fighting for workers’ rights, and organising protests against corruption. He helped start the Student Power Centre to help students who faced challenges. He was the chairman of Democracy 1918 (D18), a youth group that worked to organise students and unionise service workers. The group spoke out against the government and advocated against military actions. The group stopped its activities in October 2023.
In February 2025, Mammadli founded the independent social media-based outlet Yoldash Media, where he has been documenting labour rights violations and political repression in Azerbaijan.1
His vocal criticism of the government, including calls for peace with Armenia, has resulted in repeated persecution. Notably, he was sentenced to 30 days in prison in September 2022 for “disobeying police”, a charge widely viewed as retaliation for his critical, pro-peace posts and criticisms of the Azerbaijani government following its attack on Armenia earlier that month.2
In January 2024, he was informed of a travel ban and was under investigation for allegedly attempting to evade military service, which he denied.
Case description
On 6 May 2025, Mammadli was detained for allegedly stabbing a local resident during a dispute over a taxi seat. He was formally charged with intentional infliction of grievous bodily harm and hooliganism.3
Reportedly, Mammadli was subjected to police violence and torture during and immediately after his arrest. His wife, Turkan Mammadli, stated that police tortured him with electric shocks and beat Mammadli badly after he refused to unlock his phone. His wife reported that he experienced difficulty breathing and had a bruised face.4
On 8 May 2025, the Binagadi District Court remanded Mammadli to four months of pre-trial detention.5
On 21 August 2025, the Court for Grave Crimes opened the trial in Mammadli’s case. During the preliminary hearings, the court denied the defence motion to transfer Mammadli to house arrest.6
References
- https://jam-news.net/ru/%D0%B2-%D0%B0%D0%B7%D0%B5%D1%80%D0%B1%D0%B0%D0%B9%D0%B4%D0%B6%D0%B0%D0%BD%D0%B5-%D0%B7%D0%B0%D0%B4%D0%B5%D1%80%D0%B6%D0%B0%D0%BD-%D0%B6%D1%83%D1%80%D0%BD%D0%B0%D0%BB%D0%B8%D1%81%D1%82-%D0%B0%D1%85/
- https://oc-media.org/chair-of-azerbaijani-democracy-group-given-prison-sentence-following-anti-government-posts/
- https://oc-media.org/two-more-azerbaijani-journalists-detained-as-media-crackdown-continues/
- https://jfj.fund/jfj/ahmad-mammadli/
- https://cpj.org/2025/05/azerbaijan-arrests-two-more-journalists-increasing-crackdown-tally-to-25/
- https://www.instituteforhumanrights.org/post/a-preparatory-court-hearing-was-held-on-the-case-of-ahmad-mammadli
Resources about Ahmad Mammadli
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