The prosecutor demanded that Bashir Suleymanly be sentenced to a lengthy term.

The prosecutor asked the court in Baku to sentence Bashir Suleymanly, the head of the Institute of Civil Rights, to nine years in prison, accused in the case of Western grants for NGOs.

As reported by "Caucasian Knot", on July 31, a witness in the case of Bashir Suleymanly stated in court that the funding of projects by the American foundation, with which Azerbaijani NGOs collaborated, was carried out based on service contracts, and the projects themselves underwent audits. According to her, the accusations of ineffective use of funds are not supported by facts.

On November 5, the Baku Serious Crimes Court completed the judicial investigation in the case of Bashir Suleymanly, reports APA.

At the hearing, the state prosecutor demanded that Suleymanly be sentenced to nine years in prison and deprived of the right to hold certain positions for three years.

The defense requested time to present its case. The next hearing is scheduled for November 19, the agency reports.

It should be noted that in March 2025, Bashir Suleymanly and the head of the Election Monitoring Alliance, Mamed Mamedzade, were arrested in Azerbaijan on charges of financial crimes. The head of the Center for Social Rights, Subhan Hasanli, was put on the wanted list on similar charges, and the head of the organization "Law and Development", Hafiz Hasanov, was placed under house arrest. In April of the same year, four more activists 1 were charged in the case of Western grants for NGOs, bringing the number of defendants to 10. The investigation became interested in the activists' connections with Western donors, including the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), whose activities were terminated in Azerbaijan by government decision in February 2025.

In April 2025, the President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev, speaking at an international forum in Baku, announced an investigation in Azerbaijan into the "illegal activities" of USAID.

"Our Prosecutor General's Office is currently investigating the illegal activities of USAID; I have been informed about the preliminary investigation. Its results showed both the scale of the anti-Azerbaijani activity of the organization and attempts to undermine the work of the government, as well as clear attempts to interfere in our internal affairs," he stated.

In 2024, the number of political prisoners in Azerbaijan reached a peak in the 23 years of the country's membership in the Council of Europe, according to the report of the "Caucasian Knot" "Main points about the record number of political prisoners in Azerbaijan". At the same time, the Azerbaijani authorities deny the existence of political prisoners in the country.