Until recently, he had been a researcher at the London School of Economics and was supposed to start a new position at TU Dresden in the fall of 2023. Dr. Gubad Ibadoghlu’s research focused on oil revenue management, elite’s assets abroad, and EU oil and gas contract with Azerbaijan.

He focused on the political effects of natural resources in Azerbaijan and Russia. Furthermore, He has extensively researched Azerbaijani elite’s corruption and embezzlement in Nagorno-Karabakh after the war in 2020. Dr. Gubad has also investigated the Azerbaijani elite’s assets and offshore companies abroad, especially in London.

Throughout the years he worked in various prestigious institutions such as Rutgers University, Duke University, Institute for Advanced Study and London School of Economics. He was involved in many NGOs and think tanks such as the Steering Committee of the EU Eastern Partnership’s Civil Society Forum (2011-2012) as one of founding members, as well as a civil society’s representative to the international board of the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI) for 2013–2019. 

He continues to cooperate with the Eastern Partnership’ Civil Society Forum on a number of topics and has been a contributor to the Eastern Partnership Index for a number of years. 

The arrest

On July 23rd 2023, Gubad Ibadoghlu and his wife were stopped by 4-6  civilian cars. The cars surrounded Dr. Gubad’s car, forcing it into a traffic accident by ramming it from the rear and front. Around 20 people in civilian clothes came out of the cars, forcing them out of the car.

The attackers proceeded to assault them physically, which resulted in severe bruises on their bodies. They were taken to the Organized Crime Department, which is known for torturing political prisoners in the cellar of their headquarters. Dr. Gubad is detained as an witness to deprive him from lawyer. The police planted 40,000 US dollars into Dr. Gubad’s former office.

The search was conducted without court order. The initial accusation brought against him was manufacturing with a view of selling and also selling counterfeit money by organized group. On July 24th, the Narimanov District Court decided without any justification on three months and 26 days of preventive detention, and he was transported to the detention center.

On August 15, the investigator brought an expert opinion claiming that books were found in the office and that these books were related to Gulen. How these books were found remains an open question, as none of the case documents mentioned their existence.

This is clearly an attempt by the Azerbaijani government to reduce the international support of Dr. Gubad by making up evidence and fabricating a link between him and religious organizations. This eventually resulted in new charges of extremism and being a part of a terrorist group. 

For continuous reporting on his case, follow #FreeGubad