Date of Birth: 12 September 1971
Detained Since: 23 July 2023; transferred to house arrest on 22 April 2024
Affiliation: Chair of the Azerbaijan Democracy and Prosperity Movement and political economist

Charges:

• Preparation, acquisition or sale of counterfeit money or foreign currency, allegedly committed by an organized group (Article 204.3.1)
• Preparation, storage or distribution of religious-extremist materials (Article 167-3.1)

Conviction and Sentence:

Gubad Ibadoghlu has not been tried or convicted. After his detention on 23 July 2023, the Baku Narimanov District Court ordered three months and 26 days of pre-trial detention on 24 July. His detention was extended on 16 November 2023 and 15 February 2024. On 22 April 2024, after 274 days in custody, the court transferred him to house arrest. On 29 July 2024, the preliminary proceedings were suspended indefinitely, but the charges and restrictions were not lifted. According to the document, he remains under house arrest and subject to movement and travel restrictions.

Political Prisoner Status:

His deprivation of liberty meets criteria (a) and (e) of PACE Resolution 1900 (2012), according to the document:

• (a) His detention and imprisonment are assessed as violating fundamental rights protected by the European Convention on Human Rights, particularly freedom of expression and association, as well as the rights to liberty, security and a fair trial.
• (e) The document assesses political motives as the sole and predominant reason for pursuing the criminal proceedings that resulted in his detention and continuing restrictions on his liberty.

Summary:

Gubad Ibadoghlu is a prominent Azerbaijani political economist, academic, anti-corruption advocate and opposition politician. He founded and led the Economic Research Centre, worked on transparency in public finances and natural-resource revenues, and held academic positions and fellowships at several international institutions. He also chaired the Azerbaijan Democracy and Prosperity Movement, which the authorities had repeatedly refused to register as a political party.

On 23 July 2023, Ibadoghlu and his wife were intercepted by plain-clothes officers in Baku and reportedly subjected to physical violence. Authorities subsequently alleged that $40,000 in counterfeit banknotes had been discovered at premises formerly used by the Economic Research Centre. Ibadoghlu denied any connection to the money, while his defence maintained that it had been planted and that the search was unlawful. A second charge concerning religious-extremist materials was later added; the defence maintained that neither the relevant devices nor the materials belonged to him and that they had not appeared in the original search protocol.

The case has never proceeded to trial, meaning the accusations and disputed evidence have not been tested through adversarial proceedings. After 274 days in pre-trial detention, Ibadoghlu was transferred to house arrest amid a serious deterioration in his health. The investigation was then suspended indefinitely without withdrawing the charges, leaving him subject to continuing movement and travel restrictions.

The document places his prosecution within the 2023–2025 wave of repression in Azerbaijan and connects it to his opposition activity, anti-corruption work and criticism of government management of public finances and natural-resource revenues. It identifies the disputed origin of the evidence, prolonged restrictions on liberty, procedural concerns, his medical situation and the indefinite suspension of proceedings as central factors supporting its conclusion that Gubad Ibadoghlu should be regarded as a political prisoner under PACE Resolution 1900 (2012).