Resolution Calling for Release of Dr. Gubad Ibadoghlu

Floor Speech

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Mr. ROUZER. Mr. Speaker, I am proud to have introduced a bipartisan resolution to highlight the plight of Dr. Gubad Ibadoghlu, a respected academic and economist who taught and conducted research at several top universities in America, including Duke University and UNC Chapel Hill in my home state of North Carolina.

While on a trip to Azerbaijan to visit his sick mother back in July of 2023, he and his wife were brutally assaulted by Azerbaijani authorities, and he was arrested on politically motivated, baseless charges. To this day, he continues to be detained and cruelly denied access to regular legal counsel and critical medications. This abuse is wrong and life-threatening.

What Dr. Ibadoghlu is currently experiencing is a sobering reminder of what can and does happen in nations that have no regard for human rights with a history of jailing individuals on baseless charges. With this resolution, we join the State Department and many members of international civil society in calling for his unconditional release.

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Source