Jamil Hasanli: Although Ramiz Mehdiyev's trial is over, the ban on my leaving the country has not been lifted
National Council chairman Jamil Hasanli says the travel ban imposed on him in 2025 as part of the Mehdiyev criminal case remains in force after the trial ended.
Jamil Hasanli, historian and chairman of the National Council, has said that although the trial in the criminal case of former head of the Presidential Administration Ramiz Mehdiyev has ended, the ban on his leaving the country has not been lifted. Hasanli wrote about this on his Facebook account on November 5.
According to Hasanli, on November 30, 2025, the State Security Service (SSS) imposed a ban on his leaving the country as part of Ramiz Mehdiyev's criminal case and took his testimony as a witness.
“Ramiz Mehdiyev's trial lasted 31 days and they did not invite us there as witnesses. Because our view has been that there was no such thing as a coup d'état in the country, led by or with the participation of either Ramiz Mehdiyev or anyone else,” Hasanli said.
The historian noted that although his testimony in court was not deemed necessary, the restriction on his leaving the country has been kept in force: “The trial is already over. They did not consider it necessary for us to testify as witnesses in court either. But the ban stays as it is.”
According to Hasanli, the 140th annual meeting of the American Historical Association will be held in New Orleans, USA, on January 7–10, 2027. Although he has been invited to the event as a member of the association, he will not be able to attend because of the ban on leaving the country. “This is an act of obstructing professional activity through the illegal use of state resources,” Hasanli said.
The State Security Service has not yet made any statement on the grounds on which the ban has been kept in force.
Ramiz Mehdiyev headed the Presidential Administration from 1995 to 2019 and was president of the Azerbaijan National Academy of Sciences from 2019 to 2022. In October 2025, a criminal case was opened against him at the SSS; Mehdiyev was charged with high treason, actions aimed at the violent seizure of power and other crimes.
By the verdict of the Baku Grave Crimes Court dated October 22, 2026, Ramiz Mehdiyev was found guilty under Articles 193-1.3.2, 274, 278.1 and 311.3.3 of the Criminal Code and sentenced to 14 years in prison. Taking into account his age and health, the sentence was made conditional (suspended); his property was subjected to special confiscation in favour of the state, and it was decided to send a submission for consideration of stripping him of state awards.
