We, the UNCAC Coalition and the 240 undersigned organizations and individuals from 88 countries across the globe, are deeply concerned about the unjustified arrest and extended imprisonment of Dr. Gubad Ibadoghlu in Azerbaijan. Dr. Ibadoghlu is a prominent anti-corruption expert and human rights defender who has been active in the UNCAC Coalition and other civil society networks for many years and served as a Board Member of the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI). We call for his immediate release as well as the release of other political prisoners in Azerbaijan.

Dr. Ibadoghlu has exposed corruption in Azerbaijan’s oil and gas sector and advocated for transparency of the country’s public revenues. He also advocated for seizing Azerbaijani oligarchs’ assets that were stolen from the state and stashed offshore through money laundering schemes. In June 2023, Dr. Ibadoghlu established an education foundation in the United Kingdom with the goal of returning the confiscated assets to the people of Azerbaijan through scholarships for students.

Dr. Ibadoghlu has been imprisoned in Azerbaijan since 23 July 2023, when he was brutally beaten, arrested, and detained by police authorities on unsubstantiated charges of money counterfeiting and connection to terrorism. Despite the lack of evidence, his pre-trial detention has been extended twice, once on 16 November 2023, and most recently on 15 February 2024. After spending 9 months in a prison facility, on 22 April he was placed under house arrest in Baku and is still waiting for a trial. To date, Dr. Ibadoghlu’s contacts with his lawyers and his family have been restricted. His health, already fragile due to diabetes and high blood pressure, has deteriorated significantly in prison because he has been denied proper medical care. He is now at a high risk of having a heart attack and diabetic coma.

Therefore, the UNCAC Coalition and the undersigned organizations and individuals urgently call for the unconditional and immediate release of Dr. Ibadoghlu and for him to be given access to the medical care he desperately needs. We also urge the authorities of Azerbaijan – which will also host the UN Climate Change Conference in Baku later this year – to respect their international commitments regarding due process in the administration of justice and human rights, consistent with Articles 9 and 10 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, Article 9.3 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and Article 13 of the UN Convention against Corruption (UNCAC).

Furthermore, the UNCAC Coalition expresses serious concern for all other human rights defenders, anti-corruption advocates, whistleblowers, journalists and other members of civil society who have been arbitrarily detained or are threatened by government authorities in Azerbaijan and in other countries across the globe. We call upon governments to respect international human rights standards, including the rights to freedom of expression, peaceful assembly and association, in order for civil society to operate without fear of intimidation, harassment, reprisals and persecution. Furthermore, we call upon governments and the international community to step up efforts to protect and defend Dr. Ibadoghlu and all other civil society members in Azerbaijan coming under attack for their anti-corruption work.

Sincerely,

Non-Governmental Organizations:

  1. Albanian Center for Economic Research (ACER), Albania
  2. Action Jeunesse pour le Développement (AJED-Congo), Republic of Congo
  3. Access Info, Spain
  4. Africa Centre for Open Governance (AfriCOG), Kenya
  5. Africa Freedom of Information Centre (AFIC), Uganda
  6. Africa Network for Environment and Economic Justice (ANEEJ), Nigeria
  7. African Centre for Media & Information Literacy, Nigeria
  8. ALTAX, Albania
  9. Aman Coalition, Palestine
  10. Amnesty International, United Kingdom
  11. Anti-Corruption Trust of Southern Africa, Zimbabwe
  12. ARTICLE 19, United Kingdom
  13. Asociación civil JAPIQAY, Memoria y Ciudadanía, Peru
  14. Association Burkinabè pour le Développement des Energies Renouvelables (ABDER-BIO-DEV/ Burkina), Burkina Faso
  15. Association femme et Action pour le Développement , Guinea
  16. Association Guinéenne pour la Transparence, Guinea
  17. AWTAD Anti-corruption Organization, Yemen
  18. Bahrain Transparency, Bahrain
  19. Bantay Kita – Publish What You Pay Phils., Philippines
  20. Cameroon Anti Corruption Youths Movement, Cameroon
  21. Cameroonian Human Rights League, Cameroon
  22. Care for the Physically Challenged and Destitute Foundation (CAPCADF), Nigeria
  23. Center for Civil Liberties, Ukraine
  24. Center for Peace and Advocacy (CPA), South Sudan
  25. Centre de Recherche sur l’Anti-Corruption (CERC), Democratic Republic of the Congo
  26. Centre for Development and Democratization of Institutions, Albania
  27. Centre for Peace and Development Initiatives (CPDI), Pakistan
  28. CiFAR – Civil Forum for Asset Recovery e.V., Germany
  29. CISE Malawi, Malawi
  30. Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Centre (CISLAC)/ TI-Nigeria, Nigeria
  31. Club Ohada Thies, Senegal
  32. Coalition Nationale Publiez Ce Que Vous Payez Guinée, Guinea
  33. Community Information and Advocacy Initiative, Nigeria
  34. Community Outreach for Development and Welfare Advocacy (CODWA), Nigeria
  35. Corner House, United Kingdom
  36. Crude Accountability, USA
  37. Crudo Transparente, Colombia
  38. Derecho Ambiente y Recursos Naturales (DAR), Peru
  39. Dialogue and Research Institute (DRI), South Sudan
  40. DiXi Group, Ukraine
  41. EITI MEXICO, Mexico
  42. Family Therapy Association of the Gambia, Gambia
  43. Fundación Jubileo, Bolivia
  44. Foundation For Environmental Rights, Advocacy & Development (FENRAD NIGERIA) Nigeria
  45. Freedom Files, Poland
  46. Freedom for Eurasia, Austria
  47. Friends of the Earth Australia, Australia
  48. Fundación Libertad Ciudadana – Transparency International Panama, Panama
  49. Fundación Multitudes, Chile
  50. Fundación Nacional para el Desarrollo – TI El Salvador, El Salvador
  51. Global Actions for Humanity (GOAH), South Sudan
  52. Global Witness, United Kingdom
  53. Government Accountability Project, USA
  54. Grupo de Trabajo contra la Corrupción (GTCC), Peru
  55. Hawkmoth, The Netherlands
  56. HEDA Resource Centre, Nigeria
  57. Helsinki Committee for Human Rights, North Macedonia
  58. Human Rights Center, Georgia
  59. Human Rights Center “Viasna”, Belarus
  60. Human Rights Center of Azerbaijan, Azerbaijan
  61. Human Rights Defence Center Memorial, Russia
  62. Human Rights Foundation (HRF), USA
  63. Impunidad Cero, Mexico
  64. Initiatives for Community Development- Sierra Leone, Sierra Leone
  65. Institute for Development of Freedom of Information (IDFI), Georgia
  66. International Platform against Impunity, Switzerland
  67. International Society for Peace and Safety, Nigeria
  68. I-Watch Organization, Tunisia
  69. Jamaa Resource Initiatives, Kenya
  70. Jaringan Pemantau Independen Kehutanan (JPIK), Indonesia
  71. Kazakhstan International Bureau for Human Rights and Rule of Law, Kazakhstan
  72. Legal Policy Research Centre, Kazakhstan
  73. Lumière Synergie pour le Développement , Senegal
  74. Mexiro A.C, Mexico
  75. Migrant Workers Association of Lesotho, Lesotho
  76. Millennium Development Centre Gusau, Nigeria
  77. Mineral Inheritors Rights Association, India
  78. Mozambican Association for Active Citizenship – AMOCA, Mozambique
  79. National Campaign for Sustainable Development Nepal, Nepal
  80. National Whistleblower Center, USA
  81. Natural Resource Governance Institute, USA
  82. Nature Advocacy and Development Initiatives (NADI), Nigeria
  83. Netherlands Helsinki Committee, The Netherlands
  84. Niger Delta Study Group on Extractive Sector, Nigeria
  85. No Business With Genocide, USA
  86. Norwegian Helsinki Committee (NHC), Norway
  87. Nouveaux Droits de l’Homme Congo Brazzaville, Republic of Congo
  88. Nyika Institute, Malawi
  89. ONG ACOMB, Togo
  90. ONG WARIS comité des droits humains , Gabon
  91. Open Contracting Partnership, USA
  92. Open Data Charter, Argentina
  93. Organisation Tchadienne Anti-corruption (OTAC), Chad
  94. Oživení, z.s., Czech Republic
  95. Participación Ciudadana, Dominican Republic
    Partners Albania for Change and Development, Albania
  96. Pay No Bribe Animators (PaNBA) Sierra Leone, Sierra Leone
  97. PCQVP, Mali
  98. Plateforme de la société civile Démocratie, Paix, Élections et Développement Durable en Guinée (Plateforme DPEG), Guinea
  99. Policy Alert, Nigeria
  100. PROETICA, Peru
  101. Progress Integrated Community Development Organization (PICDO), Ethiopia
  102. Protection of Rights without Borders NGO, Armenia
  103. Public Association “Dignity”, Kazakhstan
  104. Public Association Echo, Kazakhstan
  105. Public-Private Integrity, Gambia
  106. Publiez ce que Vous Payez Congo, Congo, Republic
  107. Publish What You Pay United Kingdom, United Kingdom
  108. Publish What You Pay United States, USA
  109. Publish What You Pay Indonesia, Indonesia
  110. Publish What You Pay Nigeria, Nigeria
  111. Publish What You Pay International, United Kingdom
  112. Publish What You Pay Madagascar, Madagascar
  113. Rencontre pour la Paix et les Droits de l’Homme (RPDH), Congo, Republic
  114. Repatriation Group International, USA
  115. Réseau Nigérien Anti-Corruption, Niger
  116. Romanian Academic Society, Romania
  117. ROTAB, Niger
  118. Rural And Urban Aid for Youth Development Initiatives, Nigeria
  119. Rural Initiative for Change, Nigeria
  120. Rwenzori Anti Corruption Coalition, Uganda
  121. Samata, India
  122. Semillas para la Democracia, Paraguay
  123. Sensitisation Against Hazard and Crime Initiative, Nigeria
  124. Society for the Widows and Orphans, Nigeria
  125. Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP), Nigeria
  126. Somali Journalists Syndicate (SJS), Somalia
  127. Southern Africa Resource Watch – Coalition Against SLAPPs in Africa (CASA), South Africa
  128. Spotlight on Corruption, United Kingdom
  129. Stakeholders Alliance for Corporate Accountability, Nigeria
  130. Swedish International Liberal Centre (SILC), Sweden
  131. Syri i Vizionit, Kosovo
  132. Terra-1530, Moldova
  133. The Daphne Caruana Galizia Foundation, Malta
  134. The Financial Accountability and Corporate Transparency Coalition, USA
  135. The Lebanese Oil and Gas Initiative-LOGI, Lebanon
  136. Transparencia por Colombia, Colombia
  137. Transparency and Economic Development Initiative TEDI , Nigeria
  138. Transparency International, Germany
  139. Transparency International – Initiative Madagascar, Madagascar
  140. Transparency International – Macedonia, North Macedonia
  141. Transparency International Australia, Australia
  142. Transparency International Bangladesh, Bangladesh
  143. Transparency International Cambodia, Cambodia
  144. Transparency International EU, Belgium
  145. Transparency International France, France
  146. Transparency International Germany, Germany
  147. Transparency International Ireland, Ireland
  148. Transparency International New Zealand, New Zealand
  149. Transparency International Sierra Leone, Sierra Leone
  150. Transparency International Taiwan, Taiwan
  151. Transparency International U.S., USA
  152. Transparency International Zimbabwe, Zimbabwe
  153. Transparency Maroc, Morocco
  154. Turkmenistan Helsinki Foundation for Human Rights, Bulgaria
  155. UK Anti-Corruption Coalition, United Kingdom
  156. UNCAC Coalition, Austria
  157. UNISHKA Research, USA
  158. United Action for Democracy, Nigeria
  159. Uzbek Forum for Human Rights, Germany
  160. Veille Citoyenne Togo, Togo
  161. Whistleblowers of America, USA
  162. World Dynamics of Young People, Cameroon
  163. Yemeni Observatory for Human Rights, Yemen

Individuals:

  1. Abdelaziz Nouaydi, Morocco, General Secretary of Transparency Morocco, Lawyer in Rabat Bar
  2. Alexandra Gillies, USA, Director, Global Anti-Corruption Consortium
  3. Ali Sadki, Morocco, Project manager at Transparency Maroc
  4. Andrew Feinstein, United Kingdom, Author
  5. Angela Asuncion, Philippines, Lead Technical Consultant – Bantay Kita
  6. Anne-Claire Defossez, USA, Researcher, Institute for Advanced Study, Princeton
  7. Arien Mack, USA, Professor
  8. Athayde Motta, Brazil, Consultant
  9. Ba Aliou Coulibaly, Mauritania, President of PWYP Coalition
  10. Blanche Sonon, Benin, Personne resource
  11. Carlo Merla, Botswana, Chair of the Board of Publish What You Pay
  12. Carlos Monge, Peru, PWYP Board Member
  13. Cde Munyaradzi Bidi, Zimbabwe, Anti-corruption/Human Rights activist
  14. Cecilia Ogwuche, Nigeria , Human Rights Advocate
  15. Chantal Cutajar, France, Professor
  16. Charles Becker, USA, Research Professor of Economics, Duke University
  17. Charles Scheiner, USA, Transparency Campaigner
  18. Cornelia Abel, Germany, Senior Program Manager, Transparency International
  19. Dani Kaufmann, France, Professor
  20. Demba SEYDI, Senegal, PWYP Senior Regional Coordinator Francophone Africa
  21. Diarmid O’Sullivan, United Kingdom, Editor, Critical Takes on Corporate Power
  22. Didier Fassin, France, Professor at the Collège de France
  23. Dill Koang Ruey Shagh, South Sudan, Executive Director for Global Actions for Humanity
    (GOAH)
  24. Eze Alloysius, Nigeria, Director, PLAYYA Nigeria
  25. Favour Ime, Nigeria, Regional Manager, Africa
  26. Gabriel Sipos, United Kingdom, Anti-corruption analyst
  27. Gabriela Flores, Peru, Investigative journalist, Co-founder of Japiqay
  28. H. Rice, United Kingdom, Independent Researcher
  29. Irene Tello Arista, Mexico
  30. Jack A. Blum, Esq., USA, Lawyer
  31. Jan Kubik, USA, Distinguished Professor and Chair, Rutgers University, Professor Emeritus,
  32. (University College London)
  33. Jana Morgan, USA, Publish What You Pay – Board Member
  34. Jennifer Hunt, USA, Distinguished Professor of Economics, Rutgers University
  35. Jeshadul Hoque Tanim, Bangladesh, Whistleblower, Online Digital Marketing Expert
  36. Jessica Ludwig, USA, Director, Global Policy, George W. Bush Institute
  37. Jodi Vittori, USA, Professor and anti-corruption expert
  38. Dr. Juanita Olaya García, Germany, Chair of the UNCAC Coalition Working Group on Victims of Corruption
  39. Katharina Lang, Germany
  40. Kevin I.J. Yeh, Taiwan, Vice Chair, Transparency International, Taiwan
  41. Lisa Hartevelt, The Netherlands, Director of External Relations and Communication at the Wildlife Justice Commission & Chair of the UNCAC Coalition Working Group on Environmental Crime and Corruption
  42. Marcel Thum, Germany, Professor of Economics, TU Dresden
  43. María Alejandra Márquez, USA, Founder, Iniciativa Para La Recuperación de Activos Venezolanos (INRAV)
  44. Matthew Murray, USA, Adjunct Professor, Columbia University
  45. Mel Flanagan, Australia, Chair PWYP Australia Steering Committee
  46. Michael Jarvis, USA, Executive Director, Trust, Accountability & Inclusion Collaborative
  47. Michael Johnston, USA, Charles A. Dana Professor of Political Science Emeritus, Colgate University
  48. Michael Karanicolas, USA, Executive Director – UCLA Institute for Technology, Law & Policy
  49. Michael Kwame Boadi, Ghana, Fundraising Manager
  50. Mohamed SANGARE, Senegal, Regional Advisor
  51. Mona Lena Krook, USA, Distinguished Professor of Political Science, Rutgers University
  52. Moussa Iboun Conté, Guinea, Vice Président de la coalition nationale “Publiez Ce Que Vous Payez – Guinée”
  53. Dr. Mustapha Olajiday Thomas, Sierra Leone, Geoscientist/Social Activist
  54. Prof. Naomi Roht-Arriaza, USA, Professor of Law
  55. Dr.Noora Hasan, Iraq, MENA Region representative at Global Council
  56. Obert Chinhamo, Zimbabwe, Director, Anti-Corruption Trust of Southern Africa
  57. Osman Ahmed, England, Somali Diaspora Anti-corruption Committee founder
  58. Patrick Conway, USA, Professor Emeritus of Economics, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
  59. Rainer Geiger, France, Transparency International
  60. Robert Pitman, USA, Senior Governance Officer, NRGI
  61. Saladin Ambar, USA, Rutgers University
  62. Sarah Backstrand, USA, Fundraising Associate, Natural Resource Governance Institute
  63. Shaazka Beyerle, USA, Author
  64. Sihem Bouazza, Tunisia, Radio Director
  65. Silas Olan’g, Tanzania, Human Rights Activist
  66. Simon Taylor, Spain, Co-Founder & Board member, Global Witness, and Co-Founder Publish What You Pay
  67. Soumyabrata Chakraborty, India, Human Trafficking Prevention Practitioner
  68. Susana Coroado, Belgium, Researcher
  69. Suzana Frasheri, Albania, Senior Anti-corruption Expert
  70. Suzanne Hoff, The Netherlands, International Coordinator, La Strada International
  71. Tamika Halwiindi, Zambia, Programme Coordinator – TI Zambia & CSO Board member (alternate) EITI
  72. Tara James, USA, Program Coordinator, Rutgers University
  73. Thomas de Waal, United Kingdom, Writer and scholar
  74. Thomas Prusa, USA, Professor of Economics
  75. Tom Devine, USA, Legal director, Government Accountability Project
  76. William Field, USA, Rutgers University
  77. Zoé Spriet-Mezoued, United Kingdom, Strategic Communications and Campaigns Manager, Publish What You Pay International