Day: May 7, 2024

Ibadoghlu case in Azerbaijan

Azerbaijani politician and scholar Gubad Ibadoghlu, who is currently under house arrest, has been fitted with an electronic monitoring bracelet. According to the court desicion, this device must restrict Ibadoghlu’s movements to a specific area.

Gubad Ibadoghlu is accused of counterfeiting money and religious extremism. Prior to the change in his detention measure, he spent nine months in pretrial detention.

Electronic monitoring in Azerbaijan is relatively rare. The decision to subject Ibadoghlu to such monitoring has sparked outrage in civil society, especially considering his recent health issues associated with his detention.

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Galib Toghrul, the brother of Ibadoghlu, is concerned about the physical impact of the device, especially in light of Ibadoghlu’s leg injury sustained during his time in detention.

“As you can see, my brother receives special treatment. This is how the police ‘treat’ Gubad’s leg, injured during his nine-month detention,” commented Galib Toghrul.

Gubad Ibadoghlu, the chairman of the opposition Party of Democracy and Prosperity of Azerbaijan and a professor of economics, was detained on July 23 last year and charged under Article 204.3.1 of the Criminal Code of Azerbaijan (counterfeiting, acquisition, or sale of counterfeit money or securities by an organized group). The next day, by decision of the Narimanov District Court of Baku, he was remanded in custody for three months and 26 days for the duration of the investigation. Later, Ibadoghlu’s pre-trial detention was extended twice.

On the day of Ibadoghlu’s arrest, $40,000 was found in his office, some of which, it is claimed, turned out to be counterfeit.

However, the oppositionist stated that the money was planted by the police.

On August 25, he was charged with a new offense under Article 167-3.1 (production, storage, dissemination of religious extremist materials) of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Azerbaijan. According to information provided by the Ministry of Internal Affairs, one of the five people detained in a special operation related to FETÖ [the Gülen movement recognized as a terrorist organization in Turkey — JAMnews] had connections to Ibadoghlu, leading to his involvement in the investigation.

Some time later, Turkish law enforcement officers detained another economist and scholar, Fazil Gasimov, who lives and works in Istanbul, and handed him over to the Azerbaijani government. According to official information, he was arrested in connection with Gubad Ibadoghlu’s case, and he was also charged under Article 204.3.1 of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Azerbaijan.

Gubad Ibadoghlu stated that this accusation is also absurd and refused to testify in protest.

On April 22, the opposition politician was placed under house arrest by the decision of the Court of Appeals. However, Ibadoghlu stated that he intends to continue fighting until the end and achieve the termination of the criminal prosecution.

This case has attracted international attention. Political figures, scholars, and human rights organizations from the United States and Europe have called on Baku to drop the charges against Ibadoghlu and cease his persecution.

Abkhazian President Aslan Bzhaniya has fired foreign minister Inal Ardzinba, with Ardzinba reported to have been summoned for questioning by the State Security Service.

Bzhaniya issued a decree dismissing Ardzinba on Tuesday, stating that Deputy Foreign Minister Irakli Tuzhba would head the ministry in the interim. Bzhaniya’s website did not reveal the reasons behind Ardzinba’s sacking, and Ardzinba has yet to comment on his dismissal.

Shortly after his dismissal, local Telegram channel Apsny Portal cited sources as saying that Ardzinba had been summoned for questioning by the State Security Service, and that President Bzhaniya had imposed a travel ban on him.

Ardzinba is a former Russian official who has maintained close links to Russia. A relative of Abkhazia’s first president, Vladislav Ardzinba, he became Abkhazia’s top diplomat in November 2021. 

Prior to entering Abkhazian politics, Ardzinba worked in Russia’s Presidential Administration, where, between 2014 and 2018, he led a department working on socio-economic relations with Ukraine. 

Reports floated about his possible resignation in September 2022, with employees of his ministry telling OC Media on the condition of anonymity that Ardzinba had bid his colleagues farewell. However, Ardzinba denied rumours of his departure shortly after, claiming that his announcement of his departure was a ‘joke’. 

[Read more: Confusion in Abkhazia as foreign minister ‘resigns’ and returns]

Ardzinba’s public reputation has been contentious since taking office in 2021. 

He was also known to have supported deeper integration with Russia, which many in Abkhazia consider a threat to its sovereignty. 

He was an ardent supporter of the controversial Pitsunda state dacha agreement, the law on apartments, and Abkhazia’s foreign agent bill.

Ardzinba’s tenure as foreign minister saw the further straining of relations with international organisations operating in Abkhazia, including the UN and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID).

[Read more about this here: Abkhazia bans USAID and peacebuilding projects amidst new restrictions on foreign aid] 

 For ease of reading, we choose not to use qualifiers such as ‘de facto’, ‘unrecognised’, or ‘partially recognised’ when discussing institutions or political positions within Abkhazia, Nagorno-Karabakh, and South Ossetia. This does not imply a position on their status.

The post Abkhazian Foreign Minister fired and ‘summoned for questioning’ appeared first on OC Media.

The Narimanov district court of Baku has today completed the preparatory hearing on the suit of editor of economic news department of Turan Agency Hafiz Babaly against the Internet publication Qafqazinfo.az.

Babaly’s participation was ensured at the hearing. The suit was filed in connection with the publication on 28 December…

Vladimir Putin was sworn in as President of Russia for a fifth on Tuesday, setting the stage for another six years.

He took the oath in a ceremony led by Constitutional Court head Valery Zorkin.

In a short speech after being sworn in, Putin repeated calls for national unity amid war in Ukraine. “We’re a united and great nation, and together we will overcome all obstacles, implement everything we’ve planned. Together we will win,” he said.

“I assure you that I will continue to place the interests and security of the people of Russia above all else,” the Russian leader added, recounting the text of the presidential oath. “This is what defined the meaning and essence of my work in previous years.”

The 71-year-old has been in power for more than two decades. In March, he secured another six-year term as president after winning an election with 87,28% of the votes.