Former manager of the Presidential Office under Heydar Aliyev is sentenced to four years

Khazar District Court of Baku sentenced Akif Muradverdiyev, the former manager in the Presidential Office of Azerbaijan, to  four years in prison, finding him guilty under  the Article 206.1 (smuggling.)

According to  his lawyer, Rashad Mirmehtizade, Muradverdiyev disagrees with the verdict , and totally rejected the accusation. The verdict will be appealed to the Court of Appeal.

Previously the prosecutor asked the court to sentence  Muradverdiyev to  five years in prison.

Muradverdiyev was arrested  on June 20  at Baku airport on departure to Moscow. According to investigators, he allegedly tried to  take away  gold coins  of the Tsarist Russia times, and was arrested for smuggling. Muradverdiyev himself that the coins were  planted.

In October 2005 Muradverdiyev was arrested on charges of attempting a coup d'etat , but then he was sentenced to 6 years for economic crime . In January 2008 he was released on parole.

Observers  of the present arrest believe that  probably   Muradverdiyev played some role  between the opposition National Council and  certain circles in Moscow on the eve of the presidential elections.

Officials said more than once that the Kremlin is trying to repeat the scenario in Azerbaijan, such as  in Georgia, and  bring to power in Azerbaijan  some kind  "Ivanishvili ." -16B06-