Anar Mammadli is a human rights defender, pro-democracy activist, and co-founder of the Election Monitoring and Democracy Studies Center (EMDSC) – an organization that monitors and observes the elections in Azerbaijan. In February 2024, together with several other Azerbaijani civil society members, Mammadli created the Fair Environment Initiative-COP29 to advocate for civil and political rights before and during the upcoming 2024 UN Climate Change Conference in Baku. 

Mammadli has previously been targeted for his criticism of the presidential elections and human rights situation in Azerbaijan. In 2008, the authorities refused to register his NGO. In 2014, Mammadli was convicted under politically motivated charges of tax evasion and illegal business activities. In its decision, the European Court of Human Rights held that Mammadli had been prosecuted and punish for his election monitoring activities. In detention, Mammadli received the Václav Havel Human Rights Prize honoring his "outstanding" action in defense of human rights.

On April 29, 2024, men in civilian clothes detained Mammadli on Teymur Aliyev Street in Baku and took him to an unknown destination. It was eventually reported that officials had arrested Mammadli on charges of smuggling foreign currency. After his arrest, law enforcement officers searched the homes of both Mammadli and his parents. The investigators refused requests for a defense lawyer to attend the search. They seized old documents, Mammadli's sister's computer, and a flash card. 

On April 30, 2024, the Khatai District Court ordered Mammadli to spend three months and 28 days in pre-trial detention. In detention, Mammadli’s health condition has deteriorated and he developed back pain.

On August 22, 2024, the Khatai District Court of Baku extended Mammadli’s pre-trial detention for three months until November 2024.