Akif Gurbanov is the chair of the Institute of Democratic Initiatives, the co-founder and spokesperson for the Third Republic political initiative, and a former member of the Central Election Commission. Gurbanov and his NGO  previously faced harassment from Azerbaijani officials and pro-government media for their human rights and pro-democracy work, including denial of NGO registration. Despite many requests for state registration, the Ministry of Justice refused to register IDI and the Azerbaijani courts upheld the denials. On April 6, 2016, IDI filed a petition before the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR). As a result, on May 20, 2021, the ECHR determined that Azerbaijan violated the right to freedom of association by denying IDI’s registration. 

On March 6, 2024, the Baku City Main Police Department raided the offices of Toplum TV, IDI, and the Third Republic. Police arrested Gurbanov with the use of physical force and searched his office and the house. Following the search, the police alleged they found 4,367 Euro, accusing Gurbanov to conspiring to smuggle foreign currency. Gurbanov denied the charges. 

According to various reports, the search and arrest were conducted without a court order.  Gurbanov’s lawyer, Shahla Humbatova, was denied entry into Gurbanov’s house by the police while they searched it. Six police officers removed her from the front doors of Gurbanov’s house by using force. 

On March 8, 2024, the court remanded Gurbanov to four months of pre-trial detention. 

On June 3, 2024, the Baku Court of Appeal upheld the Khatai Court's decision on the seizure of property in the offices of the Institute of Democratic Initiatives and the Third Republic by dismissing the defense's legal arguments that the arrests of these entities' staff and the seizure of property unrelated to the alleged charges were illegal. 

On June 4, 2024, the Third Republic issued a statement where they spoke about the threats Gurbanov, faces in Baku's pre-trial detention center N1. High-ranking government officials harassed Gurbanov in retaliation for his harsh criticism of the country’s authorities in the Court of Appeals. They demanded that Gurbanov stop criticizing President Aliyev. Allegedly, Gubanov was threatened with torture. It was also reported that prison authorities threatened several other arbitrarily detained people in the case of Toplum TV and the Institute of Democratic Initiatives with the deterioration of their prison conditions if Gurbanov continued criticism of the authorities.

On July 4, 2024, the Khatai district court extended his pre-trial detention until October 6, 2024.

In August 2024, the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe announced that Gurbanov was one of three finalists for the Vaclav Havel Human Rights Prize.