A group of British MPs have called on the Azerbaijan government to free an academic from the London School of Economics and Political Science who was detained after writing articles critical of the country’s environmental policies.
Dr Gubad Ibadoghlu, who is based in the UK, was arrested and held by Azerbaijan authorities while visiting members of his family in July 2023. He has been a prominent critic of the ruling elite in the Eurasian nation, which is preparing to host the Cop29 Climate Summit in November.
In a letter from the international non-governmental organisation Global Witness, addressed to Azerbaijan’s president IIham Aliyev, 25 campaign groups and British lawmakers, including the peer Alf Dubs and eight MPs, have called for Ibadoghlu’s unconditional release. Fears have grown for his welfare after a separate letter to Ibadoghlu’s legal team, seen by the Guardian, confirmed his pre-trial process was suspended indefinitely in the capital, Baku, where he is being held.
The campaigners’ letter, which includes signatures from the independent MP Jeremy Corbyn and the leader of Plaid Cymru, Rhun ap Iorwerth, says: “We write to you on behalf of Gubad Ibadoghlu, a renowned economist and civic activist, who was detained in Azerbaijan last summer on unsubstantiated charges after he published articles criticising Azerbaijan’s oil and gas policies.
“Azerbaijan’s courts have now frozen the case, cancelled trial proceedings and are preparing to keep Dr Ibadoghlu hostage indefinitely. We ask that you free him unconditionally, allow him to seek medical treatment abroad, and reunite him with his family.”
Ibadoghlu has worked as a political economist across Europe and the US for nearly a decade and is the chair of the Azerbaijan Democracy and Prosperity Movement, which has been denied official party registration.
Azerbaijan, one of the most fossil fuel-dependent economies, with oil and gas comprising up to 90% of its exports and providing 60% of the government’s budget, has come under intense scrutiny in advance of hosting this year’s climate summit.
“If Azerbaijan is to make this year’s climate conference truly a Cop of peace, the government must immediately and unconditionally free Gubad Ibadoghlu and drop all charges against him,” the letter says.
On Thursday Ibadoghlu’s son Ibad Bayramov delivered the letter to the Azerbaijan embassy in London and visited Westminster to raise awareness of his father’s case. Ibad previously told the Guardian of concerns over his father’s worsening health condition, including his type 2 diabetes and hypertension, as he travelled to London to pick up medication for him in 2023.
“I worry every moment of every day about my dad’s treatment due to this politically motivated detention,” he said. “Just as any son would want to see their father, we are desperate to have him back. He suffers greatly, and we need to know that he is OK.” Last year the Red Cross was denied visits and the family and the European parliament called for immediate access to medical treatment and medication, and voted overwhelmingly in favour of a resolution demanding Ibadoghlu’s release. The European convention on human rights also adopted temporary measures in 2023 ordering the Azerbaijan government to take urgent action to protect his health.
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In recent years, the European court of human rights has found a “troubling pattern” of arrests and detention of government critics in Azerbaijan. Independent organisations estimate there are as many as 200 political prisoners, including journalists, activists and opposition politicians.
“Across much of the world, authoritarian regimes abuse their power to crack down on legitimate dissent and criticism, often with the complicity of corporate interests,” said Patrick Harvie, the co-leader of the Scottish Green party. “It is essential that our own government challenges this at the highest level.”