Dr Gubad Ibadoghlu Allowed to Leave Azerbaijan to Access Urgent Medical Care
REDRESS welcomes the news that Dr Gubad Ibadoghlu, a prominent economist and environmental human rights defender, arrived in Germany on 29 September, where he can finally access the urgent medical treatment he was denied throughout his nine months in prison and more than two years under house arrest in Azerbaijan.
His release follows a sustained campaign by his family, academics, political figures, and civil society organisations, including REDRESS.
His daughter, Zhala Bayramova, a human rights lawyer and activist who has campaigned tirelessly alongside her family for his release, said:
“My dad’s freedom is hope and also proves that lives can be saved, political prisoners can be free! We may need to move mountains, but our fight for democracy and human rights will never end!”
Despite his departure from Azerbaijan, Dr Ibadoghlu is not yet fully free. The criminal case against him remains open and the threat of prosecution persists. The Azerbaijani authorities require that he comes back to Azerbaijan once his treatment is done. His departure from Azerbaijan also does not address the injustice committed against him.
REDRESS calls on the international community, including the UK Government, to maintain pressure on Azerbaijan to drop the case against him, including considering imposing targeted sanctions against officials responsible for the serious human rights violations he and other human rights defenders have faced in Azerbaijan.
A broader pattern of attacks against human rights defenders
Dr Ibadoghlu has dedicated his career to exposing kleptocracy in Azerbaijan’s fossil fuels industry, criticising alleged government complicity in human and environmental rights violations, and exposing the laundering of Azerbaijani money in the United Kingdom.
In July 2023, during a visit to Azerbaijan to visit his mother, Dr Ibadoghlu was brutally beaten and arbitrarily arrested. On 13 October 2023, the then UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders and other UN experts raised serious concerns about his treatment. They linked the measures against him to his legitimate human rights work, including efforts to promote transparency and democratic oversight of Azerbaijan’s oil and gas industries.
His case reflects a broader pattern of escalating attacks on human rights defenders, journalists, and other civil society actors in Azerbaijan. The Azerbaijani authorities must stop, prevent and address arbitrary arrests, persecution and other violations against those who defend human rights or peacefully express dissent.
“Dr Ibadoghlu’s ability to leave Azerbaijan after years of uncertainty is a profoundly welcome development and a testament to the determination of Dr Ibadoghlu and his family,” said Ana Cutts Dougherty, REDRESS Legal Officer. “His case also underscores the urgent need to ensure accountability for attacks against environmental human rights defenders and to protect those who face reprisals for their work.”
Photo by VOA: Dr Gubad Ibadoghlu.