Toplum TV: Detained Azerbaijan activist accuses police of taking £7,800 cash

An Azerbaijani opposition activist has filed a court petition accusing police of failing to account for a laptop and 17,000 manats (£7,800) in cash allegedly taken during his arrest.

Akif Gurbanov, the head of the Institute for Democratic Initiatives (IDI) and spokesperson for the Third Republic Platform, submitted the motion on Monday during a hearing at the Baku Grave Crimes Court.

Gurbanov is one of several journalists and civil society figures detained in the high-profile "Toplum TV case", a prosecution that international rights groups have condemned as politically motivated.

The petition, published by the independent news outlet Toplum TV, details the events of 23 December 2023, when Gurbanov's colleague Araz Aliyev was detained by plain-clothed officers.

According to the filing, Aliyev was carrying Gurbanov's personal bag, which contained a MacBook Air laptop, bank cards, and the cash. Gurbanov claims the money was legally earned and intended for customs duties and repairs on a vehicle.

"After he was released from administrative detention, [Aliyev] told me that they only took out the MacBook to ask for the password," Gurbanov said in the petition. "When that failed, they put it back in the bag and took it away."

Gurbanov accused the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the Prosecutor General's Office of ignoring previous formal complaints regarding the missing property. He raised questions directly to President Ilham Aliyev and Interior Minister Vilayet Eyvazov, demanding to know the whereabouts of the funds.

"If they did not hide the information, then where is this money and who was it given to?" Gurbanov asked, calling on Prosecutor General Kamran Aliyev to launch an immediate investigation.

The Ministry of Internal Affairs has not yet publicly responded to the latest allegations.

Toplum TV is one of Azerbaijan’s few remaining independent online news platforms. It has faced severe pressure since a wave of arrests targeting independent journalists and civil society figures began in late 2023.

Human Rights Watch (HRW) has previously accused the Azerbaijani authorities of using "fabricated criminal charges" to silence critics and dismantle independent media in the country.