The European Human Rights Advocacy Centre (EHRAC), an independent human rights organization based at the School of Law, Middlesex University, has proceeded to represent imprisoned Azerbaijani economist Farid Mahralizada at the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR). The case, submitted to the ECtHR on 5 October, seeks to challenge the arrest and detention of Farid Mehralizada as unlawful and arbitrary, and politically motivated, in violation of his rights established in the European Convention on Human Rights. Farid Mehralizada was arrested on 30 May 2024 over the charges of smuggling as part of the Abzas case. Before the domestic courts, Mehralizada denounced the charges as politically motivated and linked the arrest to his sharp economic analyses for multiple news platforms blocked by the Azerbaijani government, including his last interview for Abzas Media a few days before his detention.