Irfan Siddik will succeed Mr Peter Bateman, who has retired from the Diplomatic Service. Mr Siddiq will take up his appointment during August 2013, reads the press release from the UK Embassy to Baku.
Mr. Siddiq joined the FCO in 1998 and has a wide range of overseas experience in India, Egypt, the USA, Syria and Iraq.
Mr Siddiq has also served as Private Secretary to the Foreign Secretary, working with both Jack Straw and Margaret Beckett. His most recent position was leading the FCO’s response to the Arab Spring as Head of the Arab Partnership Department.
On his appointment as Her Majesty’s Ambassador to Azerbaijan, Mr Siddiq has said:
I’m delighted to be appointed British Ambassador to the Republic of Azerbaijan. Azerbaijan is a fascinating country. It has a rich cultural heritage, a dynamic economy and is of major strategic importance. I’m looking forward to living and working in Azerbaijan, getting to know Azerbaijan and its people and further developing UK-Azerbaijan relations to best promote UK interests and values. -0-
Politics
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Today, the trial of the disabled 1st group, paralyzed activist Famil Khalilov ended in the Baku Court of Serious Crimes.
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On February 6, pro-government media reported 6 that Azerbaijan is demanding the closure of the “Rossotrudnichestvo” representation in the country, as this organization is not registered in Azerbaijan. Requests from Turan agency to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Azerbaijan to confirm this information went unanswered.
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The international organization "Women Press Freedom" condemned the arrest of journalist Shahnaz Beylergizi in Azerbaijan. A statement of the organization noted that this is the latest in a series of troubling state attacks on independent media in Azerbaijan. On the same day, another journalist, Shamshad Aga, was detained.
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Shamshad Aga, editor of the "Argument.az" website, has been found guilty in the Meydan TV case of smuggling (Article 206.3.2 of the Criminal Code) and sentenced to two months and one day in detention. The decision was made on February 6 by the Khatai District Court of Baku, as reported by Turan, citing his lawyer, Shahla Humbatova.
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