Terrorist attack at an embassy in Azerbaijan prevented
Thwarted terrorist attack
Azerbaijani special services have detained an Afghan citizen who is suspected of planning terrorist attacks in the country. Some time ago, three Afghan citizens detained while illegally crossing the border from Iran to Azerbaijan were sentenced to one year in prison. They stated in court that they fled the Taliban regime and crossed the border so as not to return to their country.
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Did an Afghan citizen plan terrorist attacks in Azerbaijan?
On July 10, the State Security Service of Azerbaijan published information about the detention of an Afghan citizen, Favzan Musa Khan.
According to the public relations department of the State Security Service, during the investigation it was established that Favzan Musa Khan, having entered into a preliminary conspiracy with other persons, planned to commit terrorist acts in the territory of Azerbaijan, accompanied by explosions, fires and other similar dangerous incidents, causing damage to health, property and life, in order to undermine social stability in the country, create panic among the population, influence decision-making by state authorities and international organizations.
The information also says that in order to plan a terrorist attack against the embassy of a third state, they established surveillance over the territory where diplomatic missions are located, entered into an agreement with other persons who could be involved in this activity, assisted in the acquisition of weapons and explosives, obtaining financial assistance.
“Favzan was caught at the crime scene and prosecuted as an accused under Art. 28, 214.2.1 and 28, 214.2.3 (preparation to commit terrorist acts with the use of firearms and objects used as weapons, in the case of a group of persons, by prior agreement). A preventive measure in the form of arrest was chosen against him by a court decision.”
The State Security Service reported that complex investigative and operational and international legal procedural measures are currently being carried out in order to identify the circle of persons who planned the terrorist act.
The report does not indicate which country’s embassy the Afghan planned the attack against. However, judging by the operational footage disseminated by the SSS, the foreigner was monitoring the Hyatt Regency hotel complex, where, among other institutions, the Israeli embassy is located.
Fled from the Taliban to Iran, then to Azerbaijan
Recently, the facts of the illegal arrival of Afghan citizens to the territory of Azerbaijan have been frequently repeated.
On June 21, Amiri Majid, a citizen of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, born in 1995, was detained while crossing the state border with the Islamic Republic of Iran in the direction of Azerbaijan in the service area of the Goytepe border detachment of the State Border Service.
On June 30, three Afghan citizens were punished by a local court for committing a similar act. On December 16, 2022, they were detained in the service area of the border outpost, located near the village of Dalali, Jalilabad region, and they were charged under article 318.2 of the Criminal Code (illegal crossing of the border of Azerbaijan by a group of persons).
The Afghans, who appeared before the judge of the Jalilabad District Court, said that they secretly moved from their country to Iran.
“About a year ago I came to Tehran and started working there. I lived there illegally. I was told that I would not be prosecuted for this, but would be deported to my homeland. I didn’t want to go back to Afghanistan. Afghanistan was already a poor country full of problems. After the Taliban came to power in 2021, the situation in the country worsened even more. Because of this, I had to leave the country,” Rezayi, 33, said in court.
“They said that they would take us across the border, and we would get to Baku ourselves”
According to him, a man in the house where he worked as a laborer in Tehran introduced him to a man who promised to help him illegally move to Azerbaijan. For this, he asked him for money equivalent to 1,800 Azerbaijani manats [about $1,060]. He agreed:
“We met in Tehran. There was another person when we got into the car. The Iranian told me that another Afghan citizen would travel with us to Azerbaijan illegally. We waited for a while. Then this man came. We left Tehran for the border with Azerbaijan. In the evening we reached the border. We stayed at the hotel for the night. About half past ten at night another Iranian came, he took us across the border to Azerbaijan. After walking a little, he said that we were already on the territory of Azerbaijan. We were given a direction, and they returned. We stayed there for almost two hours, suddenly the soldiers started screaming. We froze in place.”
Feyyaz, 19, says he crossed from Afghanistan to Iran about 6 months ago and started working and living in Tehran. But since the documents were not in order, he could be deported to his native country. He decided to move to Azerbaijan because he did not want to return to his homeland.
He also told the court that 1,800 manats were requested for illegal passage to Azerbaijan, and he agreed to pay.
All three Afghans, when testifying in court, said that the Iranians who helped them promised to simply escort them across the border. After crossing the border, they themselves had to go to Baku: “Then we had to decide for ourselves. Their job was only to get us across the border.”
They emphasized their remorse and asked the court to reduce the sentence.
According to the decision of the judge of the Jalilabad district court, Galib Pashayev, each of the Afghans was sentenced to 1 year in prison.
