Afgan Mukhtarli: "Ilham Arrested His Next Slave"

Azerbaijani opposition journalist Afgan Mukhtarli commented on the house arrest and criminal prosecution of former head of the presidential administration Ramiz Mehdiyev, calling it logical and symbolic.

Mukhtarli stated that Mehdiyev's arrest was expected, emphasizing that "Ilham arrested his next slave." He added that Mehdiyev was also "a slave of the Russians," and the Azerbaijani president demonstrated that "there can only be one Russian in the country, and that is Ilham Aliyev."

According to media reports, Mehdiyev has been charged under several articles of the Azerbaijani Criminal Code, including attempted seizure of power (Article 278.1), treason (Article 274), and money laundering (Article 193-1.3.2).

Mukhtarli expressed outrage that Mehdiyev, accused of treason, is under house arrest, while many Azerbaijani journalists convicted on trumped-up charges remain in prison.

In 2024, the ECHR ordered the Georgian and Azerbaijani authorities to pay €12,500 and €8,500 to Afgan Mukhtarli. He fled Azerbaijan for Georgia in 2015, fearing for his safety due to corruption investigations into the family of Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev. On May 29, 2017, he was abducted in central Tbilisi, bound, beaten, and forced into a car before being returned to Azerbaijan. There, he was sentenced to six years in prison on charges of illegally crossing the state border, smuggling, and resisting a government official. Following international pressure, the journalist was released in March 2020.

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