Former Azerbaijani Minister of Defence detained
Former Minister of Defence Rahim Qaziyev has been detained. Reports say that the former minister spread false information on social media about the outbreak of fighting on the Azerbaijani-Armenian border.
The National Security Service states that there is substantial reason to suspect that he committed these actions to ‘weaken the defense capability of the Republic of Azerbaijan’, urging people to riot and forcibly seize state power.
Qaziyev was arrested under suspicion of violating article 281 (public appeals against the state) and 282 (provocation) of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Azerbaijan.
Rahim Qaziyev was the Minister of Defense during the administration of the Azerbaijani Popular Front Party in 1992-1993.
The period he served is associated with large territorial losses on the front.
- No water, nothing grows, frequent fires – a story from an Azerbaijani village, video
- An Armenian village living just 800 meters from the Azerbaijani border. Video
- Life on the Armenian-Azerbaijani border from Soviet times to the present day
The arrest of the former minister led to heated discussions on social networks.
Here are some of the comments:
“He lost thousands of our people in Karabakh…”
“They did the right thing. They gave him a life sentence back then, and he shouldn’t have been released. It’s time to fix that mistake. So far, we have no clear information. Maybe Rahim published correct information. They interfered.”
“Azerbaijan was of little use to Ragim Gaziyev when he was the minister, why would it matter to him now?”
“He had to be arrested. Really, they should have detained him a long time ago. The land we lost was his fault. And now he’s openly trying to provoke unrest.”
