Activists and oppositionists consider case against Gubad Ibadoglu "political"

Baku/24.07.23/Turan: Civil society activists and opposition politicians of Azerbaijan condemned the persecution by the authorities of the chairman of the Party of Democracy and Prosperity (PDP) Gubad Ibadoglu.

The criminal prosecution of Gubad Ibadoglu is of a political nature, according to Rufat Safarov, director of the human rights organization "Line of Defense".

"Gubad Ibadoglu is a prominent academic and economist who has been criticizing the socio-economic policy of the government for many years. At the same time, he is the leader of one of the main opposition parties," Safarov said.

He questioned the credibility of the Interior Ministry's accusations against Ibadoglu.

"Ibadoglu's connection with FETÖ and the "discovery" of 40.000 dollars during the search are absurd statements. Ibadoglu is an educated man, an intellectual, he would never have been involved in crime, and even more so, knowing that he could be under surveillance. We will closely monitor the process," the human rights activist said.

Chairman of the Party of People's Front of Azerbaijan (PPFA) Ali Kerimli also believes that the arrest of the famous politician and scientist Ibadoglu is "an act of political repression".

"The authorities must finally stop the repression against the opposition," Kerimli wrote on Facebook.

Jamil Hasanli, Chairman of the National Council of Democratic Forces, called Ibadoglu's arrest a "shameful step by the regime."

"Gubad Ibadoglu is one of the brightest intellectuals and public and political figures of the country. Professor Ibadoglu is a leader of the movement for democracy and prosperity, he is a world-renowned scientist. He is a professor at the London School of Economics, Duke and Rutgers Universities in the USA. He represented the country at the most prestigious international economic events. He was the only representative of Azerbaijani civil society in the International Coalition for Transparency in the Extractive Industry while the country was a member of this organization.

The detention of Gubad Ibadoglu by police officers is simply a disgrace. Regardless of what the authorities invent, what happened is undoubtedly connected with Ibadoglu's opposition political position and his critical speeches on BIZ-tv (YouTube channel on which Ibdaoglu regularly speaks on socio-political and socio-economic issues - https://www.youtube.com/@biz7116/about ).

Ibadoglu was detained on July 23 in the afternoon. Last night, he was involved under Article 204.1 (manufacture for sale, as well as the acquisition or sale of counterfeit money or foreign currency) of the Criminal Code of Azerbaijan.

Last month, Ibadoglu, together with the head of the National Council, Professor Jamil Hasanli and disgraced diplomat Arif Mammadov, who is in political exile in Europe, announced the creation of the Azerbaijani Youth Education Fund, registered in London.

Ibadoglu took the initiative to confiscate the property of Azerbaijani officials abroad and transfer it to this Fund.

Gubadoglu wrote about the foundation's mission on his Facebook page on July 11:

https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=10227427529705670&set=a.1043135450376.--06B-