Opposition National Council member Gultakin Hajibayli has been questioned by Azerbaijan’s State Security Service (DTX) as a witness in the case against disgraced former presidential aide Ramiz Mehdiyev, who is accused of plotting a coup. Before the questioning, her house was raided by authorities on Tuesday.
According to the pro-government media outlet APA, she was released several hours later.
Mehdiyev was originally detained on 15 October 2025 and charged with actions aimed at seizing state power, high treason, and the legalisation of property obtained by criminal means.
Aytan Farhadova
Late October, the pro-government media published a letter penned by Mehdiyev, alleging that it was written to Russian intelligence agencies about the need to reform the government and create a new system which would improve the country’s image.
As DTX widened the list of the detainees, on 29 November, Ali Karimli, chair of the opposition Popular Front Party and party member Mammad Ibrahim were detained in Mehdiyev’s case.
Aytan Farhadova
The pro-government media outlet alleged that Mehdiyev had identified the names of those who would be involved in his ‘reformed state’, including Karimli, and Hajibayli, who left the ruling New Azerbaijan Party in 2013 and joined the opposition National Council.
Deported from Turkey
Hajibayli was in Istanbul prior to her arrest in Azerbaijan; on 29 November she was summoned for questioning by the Turkish police.
Hajibayli noted on social media that she had no connection with Mehdiyev and that all accusations are baseless.
‘I arrived in Turkey on 25 September, my three-month stay period hasn't expired yet, and I have a two-year residence permit. I’m likely to be deported from Turkey by order of the Azerbaijani government’.
After the detention Hajibayli was transferred to Arnavutköy Deportation Centre.
Later, she mentioned that Turkey listed her as a ‘foreign terrorist’.
‘Preparations are underway for my extradition to Azerbaijan’, concluded Hajibayli at the time.
She also had a legal battle against her deportation and appealed to the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) and Turkish courts.
Hajibayli was transfered to the Çatalca Deportation Centre on 13 December and was held there for around two months. She was deported from Turkey shortly after.
On 14 January, the Istanbul Administrative Court rejected Hajibayli’s appeal to suspend her deportation order.
Turkish MP Ömer Faruk Gergerlioğlu, an MP from the opposition Republican Peoples’ Party, criticised her arrest in parliament on 11 February.
He stated that the Turkish government was preparing to deport Hajibayli to Azerbaijan, which is against Turkish law.
‘You are attempting to send Hajibayli, a former member of parliament who criticised the repressive regime in Azerbaijan, because Ilham Aliyev asked Tayyip Erdoğan: “brother send her back, I will punish her”. You are risking her life’.
She was finally deported to Azerbaijan on 12 February, where she maintained a low-profile and did not comment on her deportation.
Hajibayli has yet to comment on her recent questioning by the DTX.
