Activist Mehriban Ragimli was sentenced to a conditional term.

The Baku Serious Crimes Court sentenced former consultant of an international donor organization Mehriban Ragimli to 7.5 years of conditional imprisonment in a case of money laundering, abuse of office, and forgery. Ragimli stated that for 17 years she received official remuneration for expert work on civil society projects, while the investigation unjustly considered it as grants. The defense intends to appeal the verdict.

As reported by "Caucasian Knot", in February, a trial began in Baku against Mehriban Ragimli, accused of illegally receiving grants. Earlier, she insisted on the full disclosure of the indictment to challenge the evidence collected by the investigation. The activist rejected the charges, stating that for 17 years she legally received a salary from a foreign non-governmental organization. Ragimli, who is under police supervision, is accused under articles related to the legalization of property obtained by criminal means in large amounts, abuse of office, and forgery in the so-called case against local and foreign NGOs, investigated by the Prosecutor General's Office of Azerbaijan.

On October 7, the process regarding activist Mehriban Ragimli concluded in the Baku Serious Crimes Court, chaired by Judge Namig Kerimov.

The prosecutor proposed to sentence her to 8 years of conditional imprisonment, finding her guilty under articles 193-1.3.2 (legalization of property acquired by criminal means — in significant amounts), 308 (abuse of office), and 313 (forgery) of the Criminal Code of Azerbaijan, a public activist present at the hearing reported to the correspondent of the "Caucasian Knot".

According to him, Ragimli rejected the charges in her final statement.

“She said that for 18 years she worked in an international donor organization and only issued expert opinions on civil society projects. For her work, she received monetary remuneration under a service contract. The money was officially transferred to her bank account in Azerbaijan, and she duly paid taxes and made other mandatory budget payments. Mehriban Ragimli pointed out the implausibility of the investigation's claim that she illegally received grants, questioning: ‘Is it possible to receive grants monthly for 17 years?’” - the source continued.

Lawyer Javad Javadov stated in court that even to assume that the funds indicated by the investigation were “grants”, according to the law, only administrative liability is provided for an unregistered grant agreement, but not criminal punishment.

After deliberation, the court sentenced Ragimli to 7.5 years of conditional imprisonment with a 4-year probation period.

Ragimli expressed disagreement with the verdict and intends to appeal it.

The organization with which she collaborated financially supported educational and humanitarian projects in Azerbaijan. In particular, according to her, it was about initiatives for economic support for women, preventing early and forced marriages, assisting the Autism Center, and creating libraries in remote villages, Ragimli told the correspondent of the "Caucasian Knot".

An employee of the Baku Serious Crimes Court confirmed the information about Ragimli's sentence.

Representatives of the prosecution were unavailable for comments.

It should be noted that earlier a court in Baku sentenced activist Nargiz Mukhtarova to 7.5 years of conditional imprisonment on charges of money laundering, also brought to criminal responsibility in the NGO case. For the same charges, activist Galib Bayramov received 8 years of conditional imprisonment with a three-year probation period.

Activist Hafiz Gasanov was also sentenced to eight years of conditional imprisonment with a three-year probation period.