# Azerbaijani authorities detained opposition economist Gubad Ibadoghlu

Date: 2023

Azerbaijani authorities detained economist and opposition figure Gubad Ibadoghlu on 23 July 2023. Amnesty International said the charges were fabricated and described his detention as retaliation for criticism of the government and anti-corruption work. Human Rights Watch reported that a court ordered pretrial detention the following day. The contribution assigned to [Ilham Aliyev](/people/ilham-aliyev) is indirect because police, investigators and courts carried out the case within the state apparatus while he was president; the sources do not establish that he personally issued the arrest order. The detention punished political and anti-corruption activity and used coercive state institutions against a peaceful critic, narrowing [civic space](/drivers/civic-space) and increasing [state repression](/drivers/state-repression).

## People

- Ilham Aliyev: https://factrail.ai/people/ilham-aliyev

## Drivers

- Civic Space: https://factrail.ai/drivers/civic-space
- State Repression: https://factrail.ai/drivers/state-repression

## Sources

- https://www.amnesty.org/en/documents/eur55/7088/2023/en/
- https://www.hrw.org/news/2023/07/25/azerbaijan-opposition-leader-arrested

## Methodology

https://factrail.ai/methodology

Canonical: https://factrail.ai/facts/az-gubad-ibadoghlu-arrest-2023