On October 17, the Foreign Affairs and Development Committees of the European Parliament will shortlist the three final nominees for this year’s Sakharov Prize. The Azerbaijani academic, anti-corruption advocate and EaP CSF co-founder Gubad Ibadoghlu has been nominated by the Greens/EFA. His daughter Zhala Bayramova told us about what this nomination could mean for him and for civil society in Azerbaijan.
Who is Dr. Gubad Ibadoghlu?
Dr. Gubad Ibadoghlu is a human rights defender. He also happens to be my father.
As an anti-corruption advocate, he has been investigating money laundering, corruption and how Azerbaijan helps Russia avoid sanctions since the invasion of Ukraine. As a critic of the fossil fuel industry, he has organised protests and lead campaigns against oil companies SOCAR and BP. As an academic, he has opened a youth scholarship foundation to return assets stolen from the Azerbaijani people by the Azerbaijani authorities to students.
Now, my father is fighting for his life in house arrest.
Where is he now?
While my father is technically in house arrest, he is practically in prison.
His house is bugged, and there are police cars parked right in front of the house. His ID and communication devices have all been confiscated by the authorities. He has a travel ban imposed on him, and he is not allowed to leave the house. My father needs urgent heart surgery but he is denied access to medical treatment.
The authorities claim he is free because he is in the comfort of his own house. But, in reality, his house is now a prison.
How was he arrested?
When my dad was arrested, he was with my mother. They were stopped by the police and dragged out of their car. They were both tortured and detained. The police punched my mother’s head several times.
They injured my father’s spinal column. He was kept with no access to drinkable water, proper food or medication. He wasn’t able to contact us.
He was threatened and kept under constant psychological torture. Bright lights were on all day and night, and they were making constant noise to prevent him from sleeping. His inmates were trying to provoke him, and he was not allowed to leave the cell, which is a violation of the Geneva Convention.
Why should Gubad Ibadoghlu receive the Sakharov prize?
Azerbaijan is the host of COP29 in November this year. Having Azerbaijan host the largest climate change conference in the world is a unique opportunity to draw attention to the devastating state of human rights in my home country.
This, along with the crackdown on Azerbaijani civil society, is rarely talked about. This prize will give platform and attention to Azerbaijan, whose human rights record is among the worst in the world. Receiving the prize would not only be significant for my father, but for all of Azerbaijani civil society who would be honoured by the Sakharov Prize for the first time in history.
Aside from the similarities between my father and Andrei Sakharov, the Sakharov Prize can save his life and get him out of Azerbaijan. If my father is shortlisted on 17th October, he will be one of the nominees to be invited to Strasbourg by the European Parliament. In my father’s case, the Sakharov prize can save his life and have a direct impact.
You can read more about the Greens/EFA nomination for Gubad on their Instagram account. To find out more about the Sakharov Prize process, please visit the European Parliament’s dedicated page.
