Gurban Mammadov

Gurban Mammadov (Azerbaijani: Qurban Məmmədov) (born April 2, 1959) is an Azerbaijani Politician. He was born in the village of Jahri (Azerb.: Cəhri) of Babek (Azerb.: Babək) district of Nakhchivan (Azerb.: Azərbaycan) Autonomous Republic. He went to school in Ordubad. In 1987, he graduated from Azerbaijan State University. He got involved with politics during university years. After graduation, he worked as a Lawyer for 25 years and heavily influenced Azerbaijani politics. He is very well known for being outspoken politician and never being afraid of government.

Contents

• LAWYER GURBAN MAMMADOV SENTENCED TO 3 YEARS IN PRISON
• Family
• References

Mr Mammadov also one of the famous people in Azerbaijan, who helped forming the political movement back in 1980's to 1990's, was a very close friend & supporter of first legal / elected president of Azerbaijan - Abulfaz Elchibey. Mr Mammadov also helped him during his Presidency and provided the necessary support required to form the constitution and legal system of Azerbaijan.

A well-known lawyer in Azerbaijan, Mammadov dealt with human rights cases as the head of Chalkhan LLC, and as an independent attorney. As of early 2013, Mammadov began to seriously criticize the ruling regime and its policies, and became a member of the National Council, a coalition of opposition parties and civil society organizations, formed ahead of the October 2013 presidential election. Mammadov was accused of causing an automobile accident in 2012 that resulted in an injury to a parking lot guard. Mammadov was sentenced to a pre-trial detention without sufficient cause. In the third month of his detention, another charge was brought against him. On 6 December 2013, Nasimi District Court sentenced Mammadov to three years in prison. Although all testimonies and evidence including the evidence collected by investigation officers proved Mammadov’s innocence, the court ruling was solely based on the testimony of former police officer, Isa Mansurov, one of the case witnesses. Mansurov claimed that Mammadov’s car had run over the guard’s foot. But when questioned by the lawyers and Mammadov about the accident, he gave answers such as “I don’t remember.” The court refused to look at the footage recorded by surveillance camera No. TS3-098, which was three or four meters away from the scene of the accident. The court also refused to investigate other circumstances that could have impacted the case. Although none of the articles Mammadov was charged with carry three-year prison sentences, the court granted the public prosecutor’s request for this duration.

It is not the first politically motivated arrest of Mr Gurban Mammadov. Previously, he was arrested in 1998 and charged with allegations that he plotted assassination of the president Haydar Aliyev, was sentenced for 5 years in prison.

Azerbaijan's president approves amnesty for 87 prisoners on 29 December 2014 and Mr Gurban Mammadov is among them. Mr Mammadov was released from prison on 30 December 2014.