March 22, 2016
Activist and CEU alumnus Rashadat Akhundov (BUSI '07) was reportedly among 148 political prisoners released from prison in Azerbaijan on March 17.
A co-founder of the N!DA Civic Movement, he was arrested in 2013, charged with firearms and explosives possession and sentenced to more than eight years in prison.
During their trial, Rashadat and his N!DA co-defendants insisted they were arrested for demanding freedom, rule of law and human rights in their country. In 2014 Amnesty International deemed them "prisoners of conscience."
Rashadat and the other prisoners were released after being pardoned by Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev, although other members of N!DA and other organizations remain behind bars.