Farid Mehralizada
Farid Mehralizada is an economist and journalist for RFE/RL’s Azerbaijani Service, known locally as Radio Azadliq, who has been unjustly detained in Azerbaijan since May 30, 2024.
On the day of his arrest, Farid was violently abducted near a Baku metro station by unidentified men. Placing a bag over his head, the men took Farid to a police station. Later that day, Azerbaijani police raided Farid’s home, where he lived with his then-pregnant wife, seizing the couple’s car and electronic devices.
On June 1, 2024, a Baku court placed Farid in pre-trial detention for “conspiring to smuggle foreign currency” under Article 206.3.2 of Azerbaijan’s Criminal Code, in connection with a case Azerbaijani authorities brought against the independent media outlet Abzas Media. Following the arrest, Abzas Media issued a statement asserting that Farid had no direct involvement with the outlet and was one of many experts whose comments appeared on its website.
On August 19, 2024, Azerbaijani authorities brought new charges against Farid, accusing him of “illegal entrepreneurship, money laundering, tax evasion, and document forgery.” His trial began in December 2024.
On February 11, 2025, Farid and his co-defendants refused to appear in court in protest of the Azerbaijani authorities failure to investigate their complaints of mistreatment. In response, authorities resorted to violence, forcibly bringing Farid to court.
On June 20, 2025, Farid was convicted and sentenced to nine years in prison.
While in prison, Farid missed the birth of his only child.
Write to Farid
In an interview, Farid’s wife, Nargiz Mukhtarova spoke about the challenges of his unjust detention, saying “He was so excited about becoming a father, and missing these early moments is incredibly painful for him.”
As Farid remains forcibly separated from his wife and newborn baby, RFE/RL encourages supporters to write to Farid using the Send Letter feature at the bottom of the page linked here. Farid’s supporters created this website which provides additional details about his case.
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