I am  a writer, dissident and free-lance interpreter living in Azerbaijan. In 2009, I was sentenced to prison for 2.5 years and conditionally released in November 2010. After graduattion of Baku State University International Law School, I finished my postgraduate courses in European Studies at the University of Saarbrucken European Law School. Before that I worked as a coordinator of the International Republican Institute in Azerbaijan (1999-2000) and as a director of the Friedrich Ebert Foundation (2002-2004). As a consultant and legal expert, I advised the Council of Europe about more than 40 cases of political prisoners in Azerbaijan (2002 -2004), many of whom have been released following pressure from the Council of Europe...I am writing now short stories and occasionally work as a free-lance interpreter...