The court suspended the 88-year-old former presidential administration chief’s prison sentence because of his age and health, but ordered his property confiscated by the state.
Azerbaijan’s Baku Court of Grave Crimes sentenced former presidential administration chief Ramiz Mehdiyev to 14 years in prison on 22 October, but suspended the term because of his age and health. Trend dated the judgment in its 27 October account. The court also ordered his property confiscated by the state.
The presidium of the Azerbaijan National Academy of Sciences decided on 28 October to expel Mehdiyev, OC Media said. Mehdiyev headed Azerbaijan’s presidential administration from 1995 to 2019; JAMnews described him on 28 October as widely regarded as a powerful behind-the-scenes political figure.
The academy’s presidium made the membership decision separately from the court’s judgment. The decision adds expulsion from the academy to the consequences Mehdiyev faces after his conviction.
Meydan TV said in its 27 October account that Mehdiyev was 88. Azerbaijan’s State Security Service opened the case in October 2025. The Sabail District Court placed him under house arrest for four months on 14 October 2025, and that restriction was later extended several times.
In a statement on 12 February 2026, the State Security Service alleged that Mehdiyev and others had tried to change Azerbaijan’s government by force with support from foreign intelligence services. The authorities did not identify those services; Russia appeared in case-related materials and local media discussions. A preparatory hearing took place on 21 September 2026, the month a bribery charge also became public.
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The accounts differ on bribery. JAMnews described it separately as an allegation. Meydan TV, citing local media, said the court also convicted Mehdiyev of taking a large bribe; Trend listed bribery alongside treason, attempting to seize power by force and money laundering among the offences for which the court found him guilty.
The suspended term means the judgment does not send Mehdiyev to prison, while his property is subject to confiscation by the state. The properties, company shares and other assets covered by the order, and their total value, have not been disclosed.
JAMnews said the court had stripped Mehdiyev of his state awards. Trend and Meydan TV gave a narrower account: the judgment ordered a submission for officials to consider removing the awards. That question still awaits a decision under their account.
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