Nathan Reynoso Just before Mother’s Day (May 12), which is, coincidentally, her birthday, Irada Bayramova, wife of Gubad Ibadoghlu, sat down with Crude Accountability to talk about the impact her husband’s arbitrary detention has had on her family and how they responded to his arrest and imprisonment. These are her words:*
My husband, Dr. Gubad Ibadoghlu is a professor, he’s an anti-corruption expert, a brave critic of nepotism.
He is a person who refuses to keep silent and he has spent his entire life investigating all manifestations of corruption, money laundering.
First of all, I want to say thanks to all international organizations for the support that they give us in the free world. It is very important for us.
When your husband goes to prison, is illegally imprisoned for his beliefs, for conducting honest investigations into corruption, money laundering, do you understand how defenseless you are against the system that gave birth to this corruption? One places one’s hope in the free world, in international organizations. That experience changes us in so many ways, my kids and I.
At first, I tried to send a message to my husband about how we miss him. [To let him know] he had not been forgotten. His friends from the free world and people who know him know what a decent and honest person he is–they remember him, care about him. This gives him hope, hope that everyone knew that the arrest was illegal and that the accusations against him were fabricated illegally.
My husband has always been a good father and husband. He always created mutual understanding in the family and always built our family on the principle of respect and freedom of speech, and taught our kids an understanding of the other side.
So when the disaster happened, the children, who were studying at the university, put aside all their affairs and began to tirelessly advocate for their father’s release. They are his lifeline, his lifeline to the free world.
Thank you very much.
* Minor edits have been applied for clarity.