Eldar Hasanov arrested (UPDATED)

Baku / 08/14/20 / Turan: By the decision of the Sabail District Court against the ambassador of Azerbaijan to Serbia, Montenegro, Bosnia and Herzegovina Eldar Hasanov, a preventive measure was chosen in the form of arrest for a period of three months.

According to a law enforcement source, Hasanov was charged under Articles 308.2 (abuse of office, which entailed grave consequences) and 308-1.1 (misuse of state budget funds).

Hasanov disagreed with the charges.

Under these articles, Hasanov faces up to 7 years in prison.

It should be noted that despite the fact that Hasanov was detained on August 13, the orders to recall him from the post of ambassador have not been signed yet. --- 06D-

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2020 August 14 (Friday) 17:06:02

About the detention of Eldar Hasanov

Baku / 14.08.20 / Turan: The Ambassador of Azerbaijan to Serbia, Montenegro and Bosnia and Herzegovina Eldar Hasanov was demonstratively detained on August 13. 

It is curious that the country's ambassador abroad was detained for the first time. Another interesting point is that this arrest may be political in nature.

E. Hasanov was the country's prosecutor general in 1995-2000. From 2001 to 2013, he worked as the ambassador of Azerbaijan to Romania, and since 2013, the ambassador in Belgrade.

Sending high-ranking officials abroad is often regarded as a political exile. So, now the former high-ranking statesmen work as ambassadors: Hasan Hasanov, Tamerlan Karaev, and Vilayat Guliyev. At one time, former Minister of National Security Namik Abbasov also worked as an ambassador abroad.

Usually these persons follow the rules of the game - they do not make statements, do not demonstrate political ambitions.

Before the parliamentary elections of this year, the Yeni Musavat newspaper wrote that E. Hasanov wanted to return to the country, to take part in the parliamentary elections, but some forces opposed him.

In 2016, in an interview with the Baku Post, Hasanov said that there were many injustices against him, but he took it calmly.

“I didn't react to everyone who threw a stone at me. If a stone hit me, I just endured this pain Patience and restraint are very important for a person, and if I had not been restrained, I would die or myself would become one of those who throw stones,” he said.

Political analyst Azer Rashidoglu believes that Eldar Hasanov is close to Russia. The arrest coincided with a call from Ilham Aliyev to the Russian president on 12 August.

"Hasanov is definitely a man of Russia and the arrests will not end there, there will be a continuation. I believe that this is the message of the Azerbaijani authorities to Russia that people close to Moscow will lose their posts," Rashidoglu said.

 At the same time, he believes that Hasanov enjoys great authority in the opposition and in the Karabakh clan, as well as in the media, which often prophesied high positions. -0-