Update on the Continued Repression of Gubad Ibadoghlu and Other Scholars in Azerbaijan

Top left: Gubad Ibadoghlu being interviewed in his house after he was released from prison into house arrest, April 22, 2024. Photo credit: Just Security, Aziz Karimov, Getty Images. Top right: Igbal Abilov being escorted to prison after trial. Photo credit: JAM news. Bottom left: Bahruz Samadov under arrest, after receiving a 15-year sentence. Photo credit: The Armenian Report. Bottom right: Fazil Gasimov. Photo credit: JAM news.

The Azerbaijani government continues to violate academic freedom by punishing critical voices within academia using fabricated legal charges as the country is set to complete the 22nd year under the Presidency of Ilham Aliyev and his New Azerbaijan Party. One of the biggest obstacles to academic freedom in Azerbaijan is the targeting of academics critical of the Azerbaijani government and its policies by weaponized legal procedures and unfair trials.

Among individuals impacted by the restrictions placed on Azerbaijani academics is Gubad Ibadoghlu, a renowned economist, opposition figure and New University in Exile Consortium scholar. Dr. Ibadoghlu was arrested in Azerbaijan on July 23, 2023, on spurious counterfeit currency charges. After 274 days in pre-trial detention, Ibadoghlu was transferred to house arrest on April 22, 2024, and is now being charged with “the preparation, storage, or distribution of religious extremist materials”. He has been under house arrest for more than a year as appeals submitted by Dr. Ibadoghlu’s legal team have remained unanswered by the Azerbaijani judiciary and authorities. Furthermore, Dr. Ibadoghlu’s health has been deteriorating because he has been unable to seek adequate medical care due to his pre-trial detention, and current house arrest and travel restrictions.

Despite repeated calls for his release, there have not been any positive developments in Dr. Ibadoghlu’s case. On the contrary, assets belonging to Dr. Ibadoghlu’s family have been recently seized under a new criminal investigation launched against his brother. Recently, Kaja Kallas, Vice-President of the European Commission, spoke with Azerbaijan President Ilham Aliyev during a visit in hopes to facilitate Ibadoghlu’s release, but these efforts have been to no avail as well.

The repression of academic freedom in Azerbaijan continues to impact other scholars critical of the government as well. Recently, Fazil Gasimov, a PhD student at Istanbul University, received a 9-year sentence after having been arrested in Turkey in August 2023 and extradited to Azerbaijan as part of the investigation against Gubad Ibadoghlu. The investigations have been separated since then and Gasimov remains in prison.

Another academic jailed in Azerbaijan is Igbal Abilov, a PhD student studying at the Faculty of International Relations at Belarusian State University. Abilov, who belongs to the Talysh minority community in Azerbaijan, was arrested in July 2024 on spurious treason charges, being accused of illegally collaborating with Armenian state agents. He has recently received an 18-year sentence, repeating a pattern of decades-long repression against Talysh activists defending Talysh cultural and political rights in Azerbaijan.

Treason charges have also been lodged against Bahruz Samadov, a PhD student at Charles University in Czechia. Samadov was arrested on August 21, 2024, during a family visit to Azerbaijan for his publications critical of the Second Karabakh War of 2020, as well as the Azerbaijani government’s policies regarding Nagorno-Karabakh. On June 23, 2025, Samadov was sentenced to 15 years in prison on treason charges. Samadov is currently on a hunger strike that he started on Friday, June 20 when the state prosecutor requested a 16-year sentence. His family said that the prison sentence was expected and that they will appeal the decision.

Endangered Scholars Worldwide (ESW) condemns the unjust persecution and prosecution of Dr. Gubad Ibadoghlu and all other Azerbaijani academics raising critical voices in Azerbaijan. We believe that academic freedom is a fundamental human right which entails the right to express critical views openly and without fear of retribution. We call on the Azerbaijani government to immediately reverse its actions violating academic freedom in Azerbaijan and facilitate the release of academics wrongfully imprisoned for expressing their views and invite the global community dedicated to upholding academic freedom to join our call.

Read our country profile on Azerbaijan here.