The Arrest of Ramiz Mehdiyev and the Kremlin’s Shadow over Baku

Ilham Aliyev on Feb. 23 signed into law the ratification of the “United Nations Convention against Cybercrime,” strengthening Azerbaijan’s legal framework for cross-border investigations of digital crimes and the exchange of electronic evidence.

The meeting of Azerbaijan’s Commission on Combating Corruption held on February 15 was, formally, technical in nature. Proposals to enhance transparency were discussed, along with a draft framework for managing corruption risks and the approval of a work plan for the next period. The commission also reviewed reports on the implementation of recommendations made by international organizations.

In a case that has come to symbolize the consequences of the long-running conflict in Nagorno-Karabakh, an Azerbaijani military court on February 17 sentenced Armenian businessman and political figure Ruben Vardanyan to 20 years in prison on charges including crimes against peace and humanity, war crimes, terrorism, and financing terrorism.

The use of personal and intimate information as a weapon in political struggle is not new in Azerbaijan. What is new is the scale, speed and deniability introduced by artificial intelligence, which is rapidly eroding the boundary between fact and fabrication.