Italian Foreign Minister asked to help lift restrictions on Gubad Ibadoglu

Eighteen MEPs from the Democratic Party, Greens and M5S have asked Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani to take measures for release of Azerbaijani economist Gubad Ibadoglu and ensure his visit to Strasbourg on 16-19 December to participate in the Sakharov Prize ceremony.

The appeal states that Ibadoglu is the head of the ‘Movement for Democracy and Welfare in Azerbaijan’, who led the ‘Economic Research Centre’, conducted research in the field of public finance management, good governance and budget transparency.

After spending some time abroad, Ibadoglu returned to Azerbaijan in 2023 to visit his family and was arrested.

After a 9-month detention, Ibadoglu was transferred to house arrest on 22 April 2024.

‘Ibadoglu's condition has deteriorated significantly due to torture, inhuman conditions of detention and the refusal to provide him with adequate medical care.

The European Parliament has repeatedly asked the Azerbaijani authorities to drop all charges against him and allow him to travel abroad without restrictions to reunite with his family, receive the necessary medical care and attend the Sakharov Prize ceremony to be held in Strasbourg in December 2024, at the invitation of MEP President Metsola,’ the MEPs wrote.

They ask Tajani to use diplomatic means to intervene with Italian diplomacy to request the unconditional release of Dr Gubad Ibadoglu or to allow him to attend the Sakharov Prize ceremony.