The week of June 13-17 saw the arrest of suspects plotting against an Azerbaijani blogger in France, Sergei Lavrov planned visit to Azerbaijan and victims of the Tartar case protest in Baku
Both men suspected of plotting to assassinate blogger Mohammad Mirzali were reportedly detained
On the morning of June 14, French police reportedly detained two people near the city of Angers. The detainees are suspected of plotting to assassinate blogger Mohammad Mirzali.
Blogger Mohammad Mirzali, who has been a constant critic of the Azerbaijani leadership and lives now in France, said he receives threatening messages every day on social media. He was already stabbed in March 2021 in central Nantes and in late April, four people, three of them from Azerbaijan, were convicted of the attack.
Moreover, Azerbaijani government officials have filed lawsuits against the blogger in French courts. A defamation lawsuit filed by former Azerbaijani Deputy Economy Minister against the Mirzali last week was rejected.
Lavrov is coming to Azerbaijan
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov will pay a working visit to Azerbaijan on June 23-24.
Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharov stated that Sergey Lavrov will meet with his Azerbaijani counterpart Jeyhun Bayramov. They will discuss the further development of bilateral relations in accordance with the provisions of the Declaration on Allied Interaction, signed in Moscow on February 22.
Zakharov added that a number of regional and international issues are also in the agenda. The main focus of the meeting will be on the implementation of the tripartite agreements between Azerbaijan, Armenia and Russia signed after the Fall 2020 War, which established and maintained Russian peacekeeping forces in Nagorno-Karabakh region.
Action in Baku: Military Prosecutor Khanlar Valiyev’s resignation was demanded
On June 16, victims of the Tartar case and a supporting group gathered in front of the Military Prosecutor’s Office to protest. They demand punishment to those who tortured servicemen in the Tartar case, release of the arrested and proper investigation into the complaints of those who became disabled as a result of torture.
The demonstrators demanded the resignation of the Azebarjani Military Prosecutor, Khanlar Valiyev, because of dissatisfaction with the investigation and impunity for the alleged torturers.
The “Tartar Case” took place in May 2017, when the Azerbaijani authorities announced the detention of a group of servicemen and civilians on charges of spying for the Armenian special services. They were convicted of treason and sentenced to various terms of imprisonment. However, an investigation soon revealed that at least eight suspects had died as a result of torture. With that, some victims started to speak up about the case, also alleging torture practiced by the Azerbaijani Armed Forces.
It is known so far that 200 people were convicted of treason in these circumstances, including teenagers. Of those, some are still under arrest.
