Trial of accused of espionage in favor of Armenia begins

Baku/26.12.22/Turan: On December 26, the Court for Serious Crimes held a preparatory hearing on the case of Azerbaijani citizen Aydin Zakiyev (1970), accused of espionage in favor of Armenia.

After resolving procedural issues, the start of the substantive process was scheduled for January 9, 2023.

According to the investigation materials, Zakiyev was recruited and given the task to involve other persons in cooperation with the Armenian intelligence, following which he was detained.

Before that Aydin Zakiyev carried out instructions of the Armenian special services and transmitted information about the personnel of the Azerbaijani armed forces through intermediaries in a third country. He assisted the Armenian special services in spreading information that does not reflect reality and is designed to incite ethnic conflict in Azerbaijan.

Recall that Zakiyev is charged under Articles 274 (high treason), 281.3 (public calls for anti-state activities) and a number of other Articles of the Criminal Code of Azerbaijan.

According to previously published data, Zakiyev was arrested in October 2021. He met with representatives of the Armenian special services through the "Odnoklassniki" network. He attracted attention with his comments and was invited to a third country where the recruitment took place. One of the tasks assigned to him was the dissemination of false information in Azerbaijan in order to aggravate relations between national minorities in the country.- 02D-