Anar Abdullayev is a civil society activist and journalist. His civic engagement dates back to 2012, when he joined the NIDA Civic Movement.

Since 2018, he has been associated with the Election Monitoring and Democracy Studies Centre (EMDS) and has contributed to “Gozetci.az” human rights platform and other media outlets. Abdullayev has repeatedly faced detention and other forms of pressure connected with his journalistic and civic activities. He was detained while covering the July 2020 demonstrations in Baku. In October 2021, he was sentenced to 15 days of administrative detention following social-media posts critical of the authorities and rising prices.On 8 April 2025, Abdullayev was formally charged in the criminal proceedings against EMDS head Anar Mammadli and initially placed under police supervision. On 11 July 2025, he was separately sentenced to 30 days of administrative detention for alleged petty hooliganism and disobedience to the police.

On 4 August 2025, the Baku Grave Crimes Court replaced police supervision with pretrial detention and ordered his arrest in the courtroom. He denies all charges and describes the proceedings as politically motivated. On 7 September 2026, the Baku Grave Crimes Court convicted Anar Abdullayev of illegal entrepreneurship, money laundering, currency smuggling, tax evasion and document-related offences and sentenced him to 12 years’ imprisonment, to be served in a general-regime correctional institution.

He was convicted on multiple criminal charges, including money laundering, tax evasion, and other alleged financial and economic offences. He and his co-defendants have consistently rejected all charges, maintaining that the criminal proceedings against them are politically motivated and linked to their legitimate and professional works within civil society. International organisations recognise him as a political prisoner.