The week of July 17-22 saw at least 40 detainees in a protest, IDPs returning to their villages and a new appointed president of SOCAR.
More than 40 detainees in protest against closed borders
On July 20, a protest was held in front of the Cabinet of Ministers building in Baku, demanding the opening of land borders. In total, more than 40 protestors were detained. They were released after being taken to different police stations.
An arrest warrant was issued for Aziz Mamiyev, a member of the Board of Directors of the Youth Organization of the oppostion party Musavat. He was found guilty of disobeying a legal request of the police and sentenced to 30 days of administrative imprisonment.
His father Iltifat Mamiyev told Meydan TV that he was forbidden to visit his own son. He suspects Aziz was tortured and believes his son was punished for his social and political activity.
First IDPs return to Zangilan
On July 19, the initial resettlement of the population to Zangilan district started. 41 families will be provided with all conditions to be relocated to Agali village, which is built according to the “smart village” concept.
Vahid Hajiyev, the President’s special representative for Zangilan, was welcoming Aghali village’s new residents. He said that “residents who will settle in Aghali will be provided with high-quality houses equipped with ‘smart’ technologies and the employment, social, educational, and medical issues of the people who will live here will be solved by relevant institutions”.
Families were displace from Zangilan in October 1993 during the Nagorno-Karabakh War.
Ilham Aliyev has appointed a new president of SOCAR
President Ilham Aliyev signed a decree on July 21 changing the presidency of SOCAR (State Oil Company of Azerbaijan Republic).
Rovshan Najaf will head the state-owned company, replacing Rovnag Abdullayev, who occupied the position since 2005. Najaf was already SOCAR’s vice-president and was appointed Abdullayev to precede him.
Born in Baku in 1982, Najaf was the Chairman of the Board of the Financial Monitoring Service, and assumed the position of First Deputy Minister of Economy before joining SOCAR in February 2022.
