PNFA activist detained in Baku

Member of the Azerbaijan Popular Front Party Anar Guseynov (Arkiwan) was detained near his home in Baku; people in civilian clothes took the oppositionist away in an unknown direction. The party links the detention of the activist to his political activities.

As reported by "Caucasian Knot", the activist of the Azerbaijan Popular Front Party (PNFA) Anar Guseynov was detained on June 16. The next day, the court sentenced him to 30 days for disobeying the police. The party considered this accusation fabricated and politically motivated.

Anar Guseynov, known as Anar Arkiwan, was detained in Baku. The activist was detained this morning near his home in the Sabunchu district of the capital, reported the head of the PNFA press service, Natig Adilov, to the correspondent of “Caucasian Knot”.

“When Anar went out to the yard to take out the trash, he was grabbed by 4-5 people in plain clothes. They forcibly put Anar in a car and took him away in an unknown direction. It is still unknown which agency's employees detained Anar and where he is currently being held. I have already lost count of Anar's detentions and administrative arrests. All these cases aimed to punish Anar for his political activities and social media activity,” Adilov stated.

He regarded Guseynov's latest detention as “a new fact of the repressive policy of the authorities against the PNFA.”

“Our party, despite the repressions, continues the political struggle. Despite the fact that 20 party members, led by leader Ali Kerimli, have been unjustly thrown into prisons, and administrative arrests of our activists are regularly carried out, the PNFA remains an organization fighting for the democratic future of the country,” Adilov said.

On November 29, 2025, employees of the State Security Service detained the leader of the Azerbaijan Popular Front Party (PNFA) Ali Kerimli and his advisor, member of the party's presidium Mamed Ibrahim. Both oppositionists were arrested. Kerimli was charged under Article 278.1 of the Criminal Code of Azerbaijan (actions aimed at the violent seizure of power or violent change of the constitutional order of the state). He rejected the accusation and called his criminal case political persecution.

Kerimli's associates and human rights defenders in September reported a significant deterioration in the conditions of the oppositionist's detention.