Gurban Mammadov's Arrest Reported in Turkey

Baku / 17.09.20 / Turan: Political emigrant Gurban Mammadov was detained in Turkey on September 16. His son Goshgar Mammadov announced this on his Facebook page.

“All contacts with Gurban Bey have been interrupted. He was detained in Turkey. The police special force detachment took him. Our friend who was with him cannot figure out where it was.

On the other hand, according to information from Baku, a group arrived in Turkey and negotiated with the police, who detained Gurban Bey. They even argued. After that, he was taken to an unknown place,” writes the political emigrant’s son.

Note that on September 8, the Prosecutor General's Office of Azerbaijan reported that a criminal case was initiated against Gurban Mammadov along with a group of other political emigrants under Articles 12.1, 34.2, 220.2 (calls for riots and the use of violence against citizens) and 12.1, 34.2, 281.2 (open calls against the state) of the Criminal Code of Azerbaijan.

By the decision of the Nasimi District Court, a measure of restraint in the form of arrest was chosen against Mammadov.

Note that Gurban Mammadov is known for his scandalous statements against all political forces in Azerbaijan. Having somehow moved to the UK and received asylum there, over the past few years he mastered the role of a blogger and made video appeals every day. He sharply criticized both the authorities and the opposition, doing so in an unethical and offensive manner.

In early September, the pro-government media reported on the cooperation of Gurban Mammadov with a number of high-ranking officials in the government. It was alleged that thanks to the patronage of former head of the presidential administration Ramiz Mehdiyev and ex-presidential aide Ali Hasanov, Gurban Mammadov acquired expensive real estate.

After these publications, the five-storey building in Baku, owned by Mammadov, was blocked by the police, and commercial structures were evicted from it. In addition, the families of Mammadov's relatives who occupied three floors were asked to leave the building. After that, the scandal died down.

According to observers, there were some negotiations, as a result of which Mammadov arrived in Turkey.

The General Prosecutor's Office did not respond to Turan's request about whether Mammadov was detained on the basis of the wanted list announced by Azerbaijan.

In turn, Mammadov's brother Sardar Jalaloglu told Turan that a few days ago Gurban announced that he would go to Turkey, where he would have "high-level meetings."

“He is a lawyer and knows that he is on the international wanted list. He received asylum in Europe, therefore his detention and extradition to Azerbaijan will cause a scandal,” Sardar Jalaloglu said.

* Gurban Mammadov was an activist of the Popular Front in the early 90s. Later he quarreled with the management and took up advocacy. In subsequent years, he was tried twice and served several years.

For the last three years he has lived in London. —03D06-