BAKU, Nov 29 (Reuters) – Police in Azerbaijan conducted a search on Saturday at the home of Ali Karimli, the leader of one of the country’s main opposition parties, amid a widening probe into a suspected coup attempt to oust President Ilham Aliyev.
An Azerbaijani government source told Reuters the move on Karimli, who has led the Azerbaijani Popular Front Party (APFP) since 2000, was linked to an ongoing criminal case against Ramiz Mehdiyev, a longtime ally of former President Heydar Aliyev, who led Azerbaijan until shortly before his death in 2003.
Two APFP members, Faiq Amirli and Mammad Ibrahim, were detained on Saturday, Karimli’s deputy, Seymour Hazi, told Reuters. Reuters was unable to immediately contact lawyers for the three men.
Azerbaijan’s State Security Service has not commented on the search.
The government source said the authorities believed Karimli was being financed by Mehdiyev, who joined the government of Heydar Aliyev as head of the presidential administration during the first years of its tenure in 1994.
Ilham Aliyev, Heydar’s son, dismissed Mehdiyev in 2019 in what was viewed at the time as a move intended to force out officials appointed during his father’s tenure.
Last month a Baku court placed Mehdiyev, 87, under four months of house arrest after charging him with crimes including attempts to seize power.
Karimli, the APFP leader, has been arrested numerous times in connection with organising protests in Azerbaijan, an oil- and gas-rich nation that has come under criticism by Western governments over its human rights record.
(Reporting by Nailia Bagirova; Writing by Lucy Papachristou; Editing by Toby Chopra)
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