Rashadat Akhundov (, born on August 7, 1984,
Beylagan) is a youth activist and co-founder of
N!DA Civic Movement. He was arrested on March 30, 2013 a few days after the protests held in
Baku
Baku (, ; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Azerbaijan, largest city of Azerbaijan, as well as the largest city on the Caspian Sea and in the Caucasus region. Baku is below sea level, which makes it the List of capital ci ...
against the non-combat deaths in the military. Akhundov was accused in preparing the riots during the protests. International human rights organization,
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 that it has more than ten million members a ...
recognized him as a prisoner of conscience. He was sentenced to 8 years of imprisonment on May 6, 2014, but later pardoned and released on March 17, 2016 being imprisoned for three years.
Education
Akhundov has graduated from Ali-Bayramli Private Turkish High School in 2001. Thereafter, he studied BSc in International Economic Relations at
Azerbaijan State Economic University where he was in the special talents group specializing in finance and accounting. After successfully completing his bachelor studies in
Baku
Baku (, ; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Azerbaijan, largest city of Azerbaijan, as well as the largest city on the Caspian Sea and in the Caucasus region. Baku is below sea level, which makes it the List of capital ci ...
, he headed to
Budapest
Budapest is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns of Hungary, most populous city of Hungary. It is the List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, tenth-largest city in the European Union by popul ...
in order to do his master. Akhundov graduated from
CEU Business School and obtained
Master of Business Administration
A Master of Business Administration (MBA) is a professional degree focused on business administration. The core courses in an MBA program cover various areas of business administration; elective courses may allow further study in a particular ...
degree in 2007.
Rashadat Akhundov, CEU Alumni and Careers
Activity
In early years of his activism
Activism consists of efforts to promote, impede, direct or intervene in social, political, economic or environmental reform with the desire to make Social change, changes in society toward a perceived common good. Forms of activism range from ...
Akhundov joined Yox! Movement in 2005 and was one of the leading members. Then starting from 2006 he continued his activity in OL! Azerbaijani Youth Movement. He even managed to become a member of the board for a period of time. Akhundov's activity in OL! ended up in 2010. At the same time, he was one of the founders of the Youth Rights Protection Movement initiated to protect youth activists Adnan Hajizadeh and Emin Milli whose arrest was politically motivated. He was detained for a few days for several times due to his active participation in the street protests in 2010 and 2011.
Akhundov is a co-founder of Nida Civic Movement and was one out of seven board members when he was arrested in March 2013.
Personal life
He is married and has a son who was born after his arrest in 2013. Akhundov used to work for BP as a finance analyst in Baku
Baku (, ; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Azerbaijan, largest city of Azerbaijan, as well as the largest city on the Caspian Sea and in the Caucasus region. Baku is below sea level, which makes it the List of capital ci ...
.
See also
* Nida Civic Movement
* Zaur Gurbanli
* Rashad Hasanov
* Uzeyir Mammadli
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Akhundov, Rashadat
1984 births
Living people
Azerbaijani democracy activists
Amnesty International prisoners of conscience held by Azerbaijan
Azerbaijani prisoners and detainees
Central European University alumni
BP people
Recipients of Azerbaijani presidential pardons