Azerbaijan puts former deputy prime minister Abbasov on wanted list

Azerbaijan has put former first deputy prime minister Abbas Abbasov on a wanted list as part of a criminal investigation into alleged attempts to violently seize state power, the State Security Service (SSS) said.

The SSS said Abbasov had been summoned for questioning but was declared wanted after remaining outside the country and evading the investigation.

Abbasov served as Azerbaijan’s first deputy prime minister from 1992 to 2006 and headed several state commissions during that period. He has lived in Russia since 2006.

According to investigators, Abbasov has in recent years sought to influence Azerbaijani diaspora organisations in Russia and was the founder and head of the Union of Azerbaijani Organisations of Russia, established in 2012 and widely known as the “Billionaires’ Union”.

The investigation also says that Rustam Ibragimbekov, who led Azerbaijan’s opposition National Council formed in early 2013, was a member of the organisation’s coordinating council and that these activities were carried out under Abbasov’s direct supervision.

The SSS said evidence collected includes alleged financial transfers from abroad to Azerbaijan, audio and video recordings, meetings held outside the country and materials related to plans to violently overthrow the constitutional order. The agency said the materials would be made public during open court hearings.

N.Tebrizli