Talk to Farid Mehralizada's friends and colleagues, and they'll tell you that he has a superpower: the ability to explain economics in a way that ordinary people can understand.

It was this superpower that made the young economist and Radio Free Europe/ Radio Liberty (RFE/ RL) journalist a sought-after commentator on talk shows and discussion panels in Azerbaijan, where he would patiently debunk one government claim after the other. It was also very likely this same superpower which led to his arrest.

On May 30, 2024, Mehralizada was violently abducted near a Baku station by unidentified men, who hooded him and delivered him to a police station.

Two days later, a Baku court placed him in pre-trial detention for "conspiring to smuggle foreign currency." Three months later, "illegal entrepreneurship, money........

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