Gubad Ibadoghlu halts activities of his party
Ibadoghlu halted his party’s activities
In Azerbaijan, the recently released from prison and placed under house arrest opposition politician and economist Gubad Ibadoghlu has suspended the activities of his party and taken a break from political involvement indefinitely.
The decision was made during a meeting of the board of the Party of Democracy and Prosperity of Azerbaijan, chaired by Gubad Ibadoghlu. The decision to suspend the party’s activities was made in accordance with the requirements of Article 4.7 of the “Law on Political Parties.”
This was announced by Galib Toghrul, Gubad Ibadoglu’s brother, on his Facebook page.
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He stated that, according to Article 4.7 of the law, the activities of a political party without state registration are not permitted:
“In connection with this, the party chairman, Gubad Ibadoghlu, on January 12, 2023, issued an order to dissolve the central executive structures and cease the activities of appointed leaders, taking full responsibility upon himself. Considering the obligation to regulate the party’s activities in accordance with the requirements of the “Law on Political Parties,” the board of directors decided to suspend the party’s activities due to lack of registration.”
According to Galib Toghrul, due to serious negative changes in his health condition, especially heart problems, which occurred during the nine months of imprisonment and cannot be treated, Gubad Ibadoglu has taken an indefinite break from political activities.
The founding conference of the Movement for Democracy and Prosperity of Azerbaijan took place in February 2015. In October 2021, the movement became a party with the same name.
Ibadoghlu halted his party’s activities
Gubad Ibadoghlu was arrested on July 23rd last year and charged under Article 204.3.1 of the Azerbaijani Criminal Code (preparation, 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 pending investigation. Later, Ibadoglu’s pre-trial detention was extended twice.
On the day of his arrest, $40,000 was found in Ibadoglu’s office, some of which, it is claimed, turned out to be counterfeit.
However, the oppositionist stated that the money had been planted by the police.
On August 25th, he was charged with a new offense under Article 167-3.1 (manufacturing, storage, dissemination of religious extremist materials) of the Azerbaijani Criminal Code. According to information released by the Ministry of Internal Affairs, one of the five individuals detained in a special operation related to FETÖ [the movement of religious leader Fethullah Gülen, recognized as a terrorist organization in Turkey — JAMnews], was found to have links with Ibadoglu, leading to his involvement in the investigation.
Shortly afterward, Turkish law enforcement officers arrested 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 Ibadoglu’s case, and he too was charged under Article 204.3.1 of the Azerbaijani Criminal Code.
Gubad Ibadoglu stated that this accusation is also absurd and refused to testify in protest.
On April 22nd, the opposition politician was placed under house arrest by decision of the Court of Appeal. However, Ibadoglu stated that he intends to continue fighting until the end and achieve the termination of 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 Ibadoglu and cease his persecution.
