Azerbaijan. Professor Gubad Ibadoghlu has been fitted with an electronic monitoring bracelet
Ibadoghlu case in Azerbaijan
Azerbaijani politician and scholar Gubad Ibadoghlu, who is currently under house arrest, has been fitted with an electronic monitoring bracelet. According to the court desicion, this device must restrict Ibadoghlu’s movements to a specific area.
Gubad Ibadoghlu is accused of counterfeiting money and religious extremism. Prior to the change in his detention measure, he spent nine months in pretrial detention.
Electronic monitoring in Azerbaijan is relatively rare. The decision to subject Ibadoghlu to such monitoring has sparked outrage in civil society, especially considering his recent health issues associated with his detention.
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Galib Toghrul, the brother of Ibadoghlu, is concerned about the physical impact of the device, especially in light of Ibadoghlu’s leg injury sustained during his time in detention.
“As you can see, my brother receives special treatment. This is how the police ‘treat’ Gubad’s leg, injured during his nine-month detention,” commented Galib Toghrul.
Gubad Ibadoghlu, the chairman of the opposition Party of Democracy and Prosperity of Azerbaijan and a professor of economics, was detained on July 23 last year and charged under Article 204.3.1 of the Criminal Code of Azerbaijan (counterfeiting, acquisition, or sale of counterfeit money or securities by an organized group). The next day, by decision of the Narimanov District Court of Baku, he was remanded in custody for three months and 26 days for the duration of the investigation. Later, Ibadoghlu’s pre-trial detention was extended twice.
On the day of Ibadoghlu’s arrest, $40,000 was found in his office, some of which, it is claimed, turned out to be counterfeit.
However, the oppositionist stated that the money was planted by the police.
On August 25, he was charged with a new offense under Article 167-3.1 (production, storage, dissemination of religious extremist materials) of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Azerbaijan. According to information provided by the Ministry of Internal Affairs, one of the five people detained in a special operation related to FETÖ [the Gülen movement recognized as a terrorist organization in Turkey — JAMnews] had connections to Ibadoghlu, leading to his involvement in the investigation.
Some time later, Turkish law enforcement officers detained another economist and scholar, Fazil Gasimov, who lives and works in Istanbul, and handed him over to the Azerbaijani government. According to official information, he was arrested in connection with Gubad Ibadoghlu’s case, and he was also charged under Article 204.3.1 of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Azerbaijan.
Gubad Ibadoghlu stated that this accusation is also absurd and refused to testify in protest.
On April 22, the opposition politician was placed under house arrest by the decision of the Court of Appeals. However, Ibadoghlu stated that he intends to continue fighting until the end and achieve the termination of the criminal prosecution.
This case has attracted international attention. Political figures, scholars, and human rights organizations from the United States and Europe have called on Baku to drop the charges against Ibadoghlu and cease his persecution.
