Azerbaijan’s investigation into the alleged coup plot by Ramiz Mehdiyev, the disgraced ally of ex-President Heydar Aliyev, has continued to unfold, with three former politicians being named as involved in the probe. One of the identified individuals, former First Deputy Prime Minister Abbas Abbasov, was officially declared wanted on Tuesday for ‘actions aimed at seizing state power’.
Mehdiyev, who was long in the inner circle of both the late-Heydar Aliyev and his son, current President Ilham Aliyev, was arrested in October on charges of committing actions aimed at seizing state power, high treason, and the legalisation of property obtained by criminal means. Some Azerbaijani media outlets claimed that Mehdiyev had planned to assassinate Aliyev as part of the plot, and had conspired with Russia to take his place.
Since then, other Azerbaijani officials have since become implicated in the plot, according to pro-government media.
The latest disclosures included former First Deputy Prime Minister Abbas Abbasov, who was dismissed from his position in 2006 and then moved to Russia, and two members of the opposition coalition National Council, Jamil Hasanli and Gultakin Hajibayli.
Earlier in December, Hajibayli was detained in Turkey for undisclosed reasons and told she was awaiting deportation to Azerbaijan, while Hasanli said he had been questioned for more than three hours by Azerbaijan’s State Security Service (DTX) in relation to the Mehdiyev case.
On Monday, Hajibayli received the order to be deported, but again, the reason was not specified.
Hasanli then said on Tuesday that he had been summoned again in connection with the Mehdiyev case, and had been asked to be a witness. No further details were provided.
In Abbasov’s case, the pro-government media outlet APA offered a more in-depth explanation, claiming that he had long been orchestrating ‘subversive activities aimed at unlawfully seizing and exerting influence over Azerbaijani diaspora structures’ from within Russia. The outlet further alleged that Abbasov ‘for many years remained beyond accountability as a result of Ramiz Mehdiyev’s protection’.
APA’s reporting on Abbasov also referenced his involvement with the National Council and other opposition politicians, including the prominent figure Ali Karimli, head of the Popular Front Party (PFP). Karimli himself has also been detained as part of the Mehdiyev case, as well as a tangentially-connected crackdown on the PFP.
Nate Ostiller
