, native_name_lang = az , image = Tofig Yagublu with VOA (screenshot from video, cropped).png , image_size = 250px , birth_date = , birth_place = Shua-Bolnisi,

Georgian SSR The Georgian Soviet Socialist Republic (Georgian SSR; ka, საქართველოს საბჭოთა სოციალისტური რესპუბლიკა, tr; russian: Грузинская Советская Соц� ...

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...

, spouse = Maya Yagublu , children = Nigar, Nargiz, Rahim , father = Rashid Yagublu , alma_mater = Azerbaijan University of Cooperation , citizenship =

Azerbaijan Azerbaijan (, ; az, Azərbaycan ), officially the Republic of Azerbaijan, , also sometimes officially called the Azerbaijan Republic is a transcontinental country located at the boundary of Eastern Europe and Western Asia. It is a part of th ...

, nationality = Azerbaijani , party =

Musavat The Müsavat Party ( az, Müsavat Partiyası, from ar, مساواة ''musāwāt'', ) is the oldest existing political party in Azerbaijan. Its history can be divided into three periods: Early Musavat, Musavat-in-exile and New Musavat. Early Musa ...

, office = Deputy head of the executive power of the Binagadi District , term_start = 1992 , term_end = 1993 , president =

Abulfaz Elchibey Abulfaz Elchibey ( az, Əbülfəz Elçibəy; 24 June 1938, in Nakhchivan – 22 August 2000, in Ankara) was an Azerbaijani political figure and a former Soviet dissident. His real name was Abulfaz Gadirgulu oghlu Aliyev (Azerbaijani: ''Əbülf� ...

, office2 = Deputy chairman of the

Musavat Party The Müsavat Party ( az, Müsavat Partiyası, from ar, مساواة ''musāwāt'', ) is the oldest existing political party in Azerbaijan. Its history can be divided into three periods: Early Musavat, Musavat-in-exile and New Musavat. Early Musa ...

, term_start2 = 2010 , term_end2 = 2018 , president2 =

Isa Gambar Isa Yunis oghlu Gambar ( Azerbaijani: ''İsa Yunis oğlu Qəmbər''), also known as Isa Gambar (born February 24, 1957), is an Azerbaijani politician and leader of the Equality Party ''(Müsavat)'', one of the opposition blocs in Azerbaijan. B ...

Arif Hajili Arif Hajili ( az, Arif Hacılı) (born January 22, 1962), is an Azerbaijani politician and leader of Equality Party ''(Müsavat)'', the largest opposition party in Azerbaijan. Biography Arif Hajili was born in 1962 in the Yukhari Tala village ...

, allegiance = Armed Forces of Azerbaijan , branch =

Azerbaijani Land Forces The Azerbaijani Land Forces ( az, Azərbaycan Silahlı Qüvvələri Quru Qoşunları) are the land force component of the Azerbaijani Armed Forces. Since the fall of the Soviet Union, Azerbaijan has been trying to create professional, well trained ...

, battles =

First Nagorno-Karabakh War The First Nagorno-Karabakh War, referred to in Armenia as the Artsakh Liberation War ( hy, Արցախյան ազատամարտ, Artsakhyan azatamart) was an ethnic and territorial conflict that took place from February 1988 to May 1994, in th ...

Tofig Rashid oghlu Yagublu (; born 1961), is an Azerbaijani politician, journalist, former deputy chairman of the

(2010–2018), and a member of the coordinating center of the

National Council of Democratic Forces The National Council of Democratic Forces (NCDF, az, Demokratik Qüvvələrin Milli Şurası, informally the National Council, ''Milli Şura'') is an alliance of opposition parties of Azerbaijan. NCDF includes the Azerbaijani Popular Front Party, O ...

(NCDF). Arrested and imprisoned several times,

Amnesty International Amnesty International (also referred to as Amnesty or AI) is an international non-governmental organization focused on human rights, with its headquarters in the United Kingdom. The organization says it has more than ten million members and sup ...

has recognized Yagublu as a prisoner of conscience.

Personal life

Tofig Rashid oglu Yagublu was born on February 6, 1961, in the Azerbaijani-populated village of Injaoglu (Shua-Bolnisi), then

of the

. In 1989, he applied for withdrawal from the membership of the

CPSU "Hymn of the Bolshevik Party" , headquarters = 4 Staraya Square, Moscow , general_secretary = Vladimir Lenin (first)Mikhail Gorbachev (last) , founded = , banned = , founder = Vladimir Lenin , newspaper ...

. He took part in the

, and was twice presented for the title of

National Hero of Azerbaijan The National Hero of Azerbaijan ( az, Azərbaycan milli qəhrəmanı) is the highest Hero (title), national title in the Republic of Azerbaijan. The title was named on 25 March 1992, and the "Qizil Ulduz" Medal awarded as a sign of receiving this t ...

, but in the end, was not awarded for various reasons. In 2012, the Yeni Musavat online newspaper began publishing Yagublu's

war diary A war diary is a regularly updated official record kept by military units of their activities during wartime. The purpose of these diaries is to both record information which can later be used by the military to improve its training and tactics as ...

. He is married and has two daughters and a son. In 2012, one of Yagublu's daughters, Nigar Hazi, was imprisoned. His other daughter, Nargiz Yagublu, died in 2015.

Political activity

Yagublu joined

in 1992. During the presidency of

, Yagublu was the first deputy head of the executive power of the Binagadi District,

Baku Baku (, ; az, Bakı ) is the capital and largest city of Azerbaijan, as well as the largest city on the Caspian Sea and of the Caucasus region. Baku is located below sea level, which makes it the lowest lying national capital in the world a ...

Arrests

Yagublu has been arrested several times since 1998 when he was sentenced to two years of suspended imprisonment for participating in protests. On February 4 2013, he was sentenced to five years in prison for participating in the anti-government protests. On March 17, 2016, he was pardoned by a presidential decree. In 2014, the Shaki Court of Grave Crimes sentenced Yagublu to five years in prison, officially for inciting mass violence. In October 2019, Yagublu was detained for 30 days, for disobeying police orders during peaceful protests, according to the official narrative.

Arrest in 2020

According to the

Ministry of Internal Affairs of Azerbaijan The Ministry of Internal Affairs of Azerbaijan () is an Azerbaijani government ministry for internal affairs, which is responsible for keeping the order, security and safety of population, officials, buildings and structures in the country. The ...

, on March 22 2020, at about 15:00 in the Nizami District of

, a

Toyota Corolla The is a series of compact cars (formerly subcompact) manufactured and marketed globally by the Toyota Motor Corporation. Introduced in 1966, the Corolla was the best-selling car worldwide by 1974 and has been one of the best-selling cars in ...

driven by Tofig Yagublu collided with a

Lada Riva The Lada / VAZ-2105, 2104 and 2107, collectively marketed as Lada Riva for right-hand drive models (in the United Kingdom, Australia and New Zealand), the Lada Nova in Germany, and by multiple other names and markets, are a series of compact se ...

driven by Elkhan Jabrayilov. However, Yagublu's daughter, Nigar Hazi told that when he was in his parked car, another car drove into him, while Elkhan Jabrailov, who was driving, rushed to Yagublu with claims. Nemat Kerimli, one of Yagublu's advocates, claimed that the investigators were biased and explained that the police had "seized Yagublu's mobile phone and wouldn't return it. Yagublu had recorded to his phone how, after the road accident, he was attacked by the man, who was later recognized to be a victim." Nevertheless, head of the press-service of the Ministry of Internal Affairs Ehsan Zahidov said that "even though the accident was caused by Tofig Yagublu, he started a conflict and beat Elkhan Jabrayilov and his wife Javahir Jabrayilova with fists and a wrench, causing them injuries of varying severity." The Nizami District Police Office opened a criminal case under Article 221.3 of the Criminal Code of Azerbaijan (

Hooliganism Hooliganism is disruptive or unlawful behavior such as rioting, bullying and vandalism, usually in connection with crowds at sporting events. Etymology There are several theories regarding the origin of the word ''hooliganism,'' which is a d ...

, using weapons or items used as weapons if this was accompanied by violence against the victim or destruction or damage to other people's property). Tofig Yagublu was detained as a suspect. The next day, Tofig Yagublu was remanded in custody for three months and taken to Prison 3. However, he did not accept the criminal case against him and said that he was "slandered". He said that he treated the trial as biased and "fulfilling the political order" of the Azerbaijani leadership. His daughter Nigar Hazi also denied all charges. On May 21,

Human Rights Watch Human Rights Watch (HRW) is an international non-governmental organization, headquartered in New York City, that conducts research and advocacy on human rights. The group pressures governments, policy makers, companies, and individual human r ...

urged the Azerbaijani authorities to set Tofig Yagublu free. On September 1 2020, the public prosecutor spoke at the trial in the Nizami District Court, chaired by Judge Nariman Mehdiyev, and requested that Tofig Yagublu be sentenced to four years and six months in prison. On September 2, Yagublu accused the court and the authorities of fabricating charges, then declared that he will start a hunger strike in protest against this arbitrariness. On September 3 2020, Yagublu was sentenced to four years and three months in prison.

Arrest in 2021

On 3 December 2021, Azerbaijan police violently dispersed a peaceful protest in central Baku, detaining dozens of protesters, including Yagublu, who alleged that police severely beat him while videoing him and demanded that he say on camera that he would stop criticizing Azerbaijan’s leadership.

stated that he was beaten in the police station and then again while being driven to the outskirts of Baku, being dumped 70km outside the city center, and that "his face and body showed clear signs of abuse." On December 15 2021, Amnesty International said that Yagublu was re-arrested, describing arrest as an attack on government critics and basic freedoms in Azerbaijan

International response to imprisonment

Responding to a question at a briefing on 9 January 2023 about the most recent detention of Yagublu and fellow activist

Bakhtiyar Hajiyev Bakhtiyar Ilyas oglu Hajiyev ( az, Bəxtiyar İlyas oğlu Hacıyev; born c. 1982) is an Azerbaijani activist and blogger who served a prison sentence from 2011 to 2012 on charges of evading military service. His imprisonment was protested by numer ...

, U.S. State Department spokesperson

Ned Price Edward "Ned" Price (born November 22, 1982) is an American political advisor and former intelligence officer serving as spokesman for the United States Department of State since 2021. He worked at the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) from 2006 ...

said that the Department was "deeply troubled by the arrest and detention of Bakhtiyar Hajiyev and Tofig Yagublu". Price urged the Azerbaijani authorities to "release them expeditiously" and "respect its citizens’ right, including the rights to express views peacefully."

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Yagublu, Tofig 1961 births People from Kvemo Kartli Musavat politicians Azerbaijani politicians convicted of crimes 21st-century Azerbaijani politicians Azerbaijani journalists Azerbaijani military personnel of the Nagorno-Karabakh War Resigned Communist Party of the Soviet Union members Living people Political controversies in Azerbaijan