Isa Gambar

Isa Yunis oghlu Gambar (Azerbaijani: İsa Yunis oğlu Qəmbər), also known as Isa Gambar (born February 24, 1957), is an Azerbaijani politician and leader of the Equality Party (Müsavat), one of the opposition blocs in Azerbaijan.

He was elected a member of parliament in 1990 and was elected parliamentary speaker in 1992.

A prominent opposition figure in Azerbaijan, Gambar was blocked from contesting elections by Azerbaijani ruler Heydar Aliyev. Aliyev stripped Gambar of parliamentary immunity and had him arrested when he criticized Aliyev's power grab in 1993.

Criticism from abroad led Aliyev's regime to release Gambar a few weeks later.

Gambar was a close associate of independent Azerbaijan's first freely elected president Abulfaz Elchibey who was ousted in a military coup.

During his time in parliament, Gambar worked with Elchibey to take the first steps to introducing market reforms in Azerbaijan.

Gambar is married and has two sons.

His wife, Aida Bağırova, is a doctor of history, and a professor at Baku State University.

Human Rights Watch commented on the 2003 elections:

Human Rights Watch research found that the government had heavily intervened in the elections campaign in favour of Prime Minister İlham Aliyev, son of the current President Heydar Aliyev.

The government had stacked the Central Election Commission and local election commission with its supporters, and banned local non-governmental organizations from monitoring the vote.

As the elections drew nearer, government officials have openly sided with the campaign of İlham Aliyev, constantly obstructing opposition rallies and attempting to limit public participation in opposition events.

In some cases, local officials have closed all the roads into town during opposition rallies, or have extended working and school hours, in one case, even declaring a Sunday work day, to prevent participation in opposition rallies.

In his role as leader of Müsavat, Gambar has played a major part in spring 2011 demonstrations inspired by other protests throughout the Middle East.

He and his party have organized protests, occasionally joining with fellow opposition groups like the Popular Front Party to rally in Baku despite a government ban and the steadfast efforts of security forces to disperse gatherings and arrest activists.

"There is a criminal, authoritarian and corrupt regime in Azerbaijan, and the people of Azerbaijan no longer want to live under these conditions," Gambar told The New York Times.

In early April, Ilkin Gambar, the opposition leader's son currently serving in the Azerbaijani Army, claimed on his Facebook page that he was being sent to the front lines in Azerbaijan's standoff with Armenia and that his father had been "warned" that this could be a result of his continuing involvement in protests.

For his part, Isa Gambar said, "The Ministry of Defence has a right to place soldiers in any location at its disposal. So I don't want to politicize this issue."