Persecution and Personal Turmoil

https://freegubad.com/
Zhala X - https://x.com/BayramovaZhala

Zhala Bayramova is a human rights lawyer and child of political prisoner and human rights defender Dr. Gubad Ibadoghlu. 

I met Zhala recently at Bill Browders, Magnitsky Awards, where Zhala won youth activist of the year. 

Her legal status is that of a political refugee in Sweden, having been horrifically beaten during protests in Azerbaijan, a country she is afraid she will never be able to return to.

Her father was repeatedly arrested for investigating corruption within the oil industry of Azerbaijan, until In the autumn of 2023 he decided to take the risk and visit his seriously ill mother in Baku, upon arrival, he was beaten by local police, as was his wife and Zhala’s mother. Then Gubad was arrested under trumped up charges of money laundering and subsequently thrown into pre-trial detention. His case was later postponed indefinitely, but he remains under house arrest and is being denied critical medical attention which in any other circumstance might save his lfie. Zhala, together with her brothers and mother, are leading a global campaign for his release.

Zhala is an absolute force, and it is my privilege to have her as a guest on this podcast.