On March 18, the next court hearing was held at the Baku Court on Grave Crimes regarding Novruz Taghiyev, the bodyguard of Ali Karimli, chairman of the Azerbaijan Popular Front Party (APFP).
The hearing was chaired by Judge Vugar Guliyev. The judge announced that the investigation had been completed.
The state prosecutor delivered a statement requesting that Taghiyev be sentenced to eight years in prison.
The next court hearing has been postponed to April 3.
Novruz Taghiyev has been in detention since May 20, 2025. He is charged under Articles 178.3.2 (fraud causing large-scale damage) and 320.1 (forgery or use of forged documents) of the Criminal Code.
Taghiyev, who works in real estate transactions, is accused of obtaining 70,000 manats from a person named Nijat Abbasov, who presented himself as a client.
The APFP member does not accept the charges and states that they are fabricated.
Currently, more than 20 APFP members, including Ali Karimli, are under arrest.
Ali Karimli and Presidium member Mammad Ibrahim were arrested on December 1 and sentenced to 2 months and 15 days of detention on charges of attempting to seize power by force and attempting to violently change the constitutional order of the state.
The party describes the arrests as politically motivated.
