Youth movement leader has been arrested on charges of plotting with Armenian secret service to stage a coup in Azerbaijan. The apprehension follows a testimony of another representative of organization, who appealed to the Prosecutor’s Office last week.
According to the Prosecutor’s Office, representative of the Yeni Fikir (New Thought) movement Osman Alimuradov testified that on July 28-29, he traveled to Tbilisi together with the movement chairman Ruslan Bashirli, on an instruction of the major opposition Popular Front Party (PFPA) chairman Ali Karimli. Yeni Fikir is known to maintain close ties with the PFPA leader.
While in the Georgian capital, they met with Merabi Jibutia, who presented himself as a representative of Georgian ‘democratic forces’, as well as two other individuals, Georgi Ispirian and a man named Vardan. “However, these individuals actually represent Armenian secret service”, the Prosecutor’s Office report said. These persons drew the movement representatives to secret cooperation.
Alimuradov submitted a video tape and a receipt proving that Bashirli received money from these individuals.
The investigation showed that in late June-early July, Georgian citizen Jibutia visited Baku and met with the Yeni Fikir chairman Bashirli. Bashirli then introduced him to the PFPA chairman Karimli, which was followed by an hour-long face-to-face conversation.
Bashirli and Alimuradov met with Georgi Ispirian and Jibutia at a private apartment in Tbilisi on July 29. Bashirli said that the ‘forces’ he represents act on the behest of the US National Democratic Institute and receive ‘specific instructions’ from NDI representatives to stage a ‘revolution’ in Azerbaijan. He said that NDI representatives arranged training sessions for PFPA deputy chair Fuad Mustafayev and the Yeni Fikir movement member Seyid Nuriyev, in Poland.
Ispirian promised that Armenian and Georgian ‘democratic forces’ would provide all kinds of assistance, including sufficient funds, to the PFPA chair Karimli and Bashirli to stage a change of power in Azerbaijan.
He said that if necessary, fear and confusion would be provoked among the population and ceasefire may be breached for a short period of time to ‘show the incompetence of the authorities’. Ispirian also said during the meeting that he is capable of staging shooting at one of the opposition rallies in Azerbaijan in order to breach stability in the country.
After an agreement was reached to jointly struggle against Azerbaijani authorities, Ispirian gave $2,000 to Bashirli and received a receipt for the money. Besides, he promised Bashirli to give him another $20,000 in a few days. The plotters then agreed that Bashirli will receive $2,000 every month.
However, Alimuradov turned down the proposal to cooperate. He said that the afore-mentioned man named Vardan told him that they represent Armenian secret service and video-taped the meeting with a hidden camera. Vardan threatened Alimuradov that if collaboration is declined, the video-tape would be aired on TV channels. He also gave a copy of the tape to Alimuradov.
Azerbaijani law enforcement started a criminal case against Bashirli on charges of ‘forceful capture of power’ and ‘forceful overthrow of the constitutional system’.
‘Provocation’
PFPA chairman Ali Karimli has refuted reports on Bashirli’s cooperation with Armenian secret service, terming them as a ‘skillfully-concocted provocation’ of Azeri secret service against the opposition.
“The reports and relevant TV broadcasts are another subversion of Azerbaijani secret service”, Karimli told a news conference on Friday.
Karimli said that the movement in question has been actively involved in drawing young people to democratic processes in the country. Bashirli has been detained on numerous occasions for his activities, subjected to violence and insults. Nonetheless, he remained committed to the principles of democracy, the PFPA chairman said.
“The authorities decided to resort to a provocation against Bashirli, with the aid of the Yeni Fikir movement representative Alimuradov, who acts as an agent of the Azeri secret service.”
Karimli stated that the authorities are trying to discredit him. “But even Alimuradov’s letter to the Prosecutor General’s Office says that they visited Tbilisi through NGOs but not on my instruction”, he said.
Karimli said that the individuals that spoke with Bashirli during the visit presented themselves as representatives of Georgian non-government organizations.
The PFPA chair said that a while ago, one of these persons, who are now known to serve Armenian secret service, visited Baku, presenting himself as a businessman, and met with him.
“If he works for Armenian secret service, how did he manage to enter the city? Where were government agencies then?”
Karimli went on to say that after Bashirli returned from Georgia, he informed him that he met in Tbilisi with a Georgian businessman, who showed interest in the democratic processes in Azerbaijan. Bashirli said that he was offered financial aid for democratic development in the country, but refused to take the money.
“I am not sure now – either Bashirli was not telling the truth or this part was removed from the TV footage.”
The PFPA chair said that he was disappointed with some statements made by Bashirli.
“I was frustrated by what he said about the Upper Garabagh conflict settlement and the US plans to stage a revolution in Azerbaijan….He was in a drunken state when he made those statements. Psychotropic substances could have been mixed in the drinks, which explains Bashirli’s inadequate actions shown in the TV broadcast.”
The PFPA chairman did not rule that Russian secret service agencies may be involved in the incident. Certain forces may be trying to deal a blow on the West by such provocations, he said.
“For instance, prisoners were tortured on numerous occasions before to get false testimony against me and the US ambassador Reno Harnish.”
Bashirli bears not criminal but ‘moral responsibility’ for the incident, said Karimli.
The PFPA chairman said that during the conversation Bashirli was not aware that one of the interlocutors was of Armenian nationality. He believed that these people represented Georgian democratic forces.
Karimli regarded as ‘absurd’ the arguments of his opponents who say that Bashirli ‘sold Azerbaijan’s interests for $2,000’.
He said that the uproar over the incident serves the authorities’ aspiration to compromise him and his party and voiced confidence that he will ‘succeed in disclosing it’.
“We will state our position once again. We do not support violence but intend to struggle till the end by democratic means.”
Karimli said that PFPA will appeal to the Georgian government to achieve a transparent conduct of investigation into the incident. The party will make every effort to draw Georgian secret service bodies to the investigation. “This may help identify those who are said to be employees of the Armenian secret service,” he said.
The PFPA chairman added that their goal is not to get Bashirli acquitted but to ‘ascertain the truth’.
‘Egg and tomato attacks’
Pressures on the Popular Front Party have started after the law enforcement issued reports on the arrest of the Yeni Fikir chair Bashirli.
Some 500 refugees and displaced persons picketed the PFPA headquarters on Saturday in protest against Bashirli’s plotting with the Armenian secret service. The protesters threw eggs at the building demanding PFPA’s closure. The police thwarted the ensuing clash between the picketers and the party’s representatives.
The Azadlig newspaper located in the party headquarters was subjected to a ‘tomato attack’ by unidentified individuals a day earlier. The PFPA chairman Karimli said the incident was staged by the authorities.
“Our party’s division in the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic was also subjected to an ‘attack’ twice over a day. It has become clear that the actions were staged by the brother of the republic’s interior ministry crime search department chief.”
Karimli said that his party is concerned over possible attack in PFPA divisions in other Azeri regions as well.
“The authorities add political coloring to the incident, trying to degrade PFPA. Their main goal is to divert attention from the opposition demanding a free and democratic election in November.”
NDI dismisses reports
The statement made by Bashirli in a meeting with his Armenian and Georgian ‘colleagues’, which says that ‘democratic forces’ in Azerbaijan are provided with financial support and trained by US National Democratic Institute (NDI) has drawn criticism from the organization.
The NDI Baku office has dismissed the allegations, saying that the Institute is engaged in organizing training for democratic political organizations, supports them and assists in conducting fair elections in 50 countries, including Azerbaijan.
In a statement, NDI said that it is cooperating with the political parties that support the conduct of free and fair elections and all allegations contradicting this are untrue.
PFPA leader ‘responsible’
Some opposition leaders have condemned the actions by the Yeni Fikir movement leader.
Chairmen of the Great Establishment and Whole Azerbaijan Popular Front parties Fazil Gazanfaroghlu and Gudrat Hasanguliyev told journalists that Bashirli has actually carried out a mediating mission and that he is supported by the PFPA leadership, which is responsible for the incident.
Gazanfaroghlu expressed his disappointment with the fact that some foreign ambassadors, who refuse to meet with his party members, ‘spend several hours talking to such novices as Bashirli’.
Hasanguliyev said that Bashirli is PFPA chairman Karimli’s relative. “Only a man like Karimli can gather around him such young people as Bashirli.” Hasanguliyev also advised Karimli to move to a European country.
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