Attempted Power Grab in Azerbaijan: MP Arrested

The leader of Azerbaijan's opposition "People's Front," Ali Kerimli, has been charged with attempted usurpation of power, according to local sources. Kerimli has been accused under Article 278.1 of the Azerbaijani Criminal Code, with his arrest carried out by the State Security Service.

The charge pertains to actions aimed at the usurpation of power or the violent alteration of the constitutional order of the state. Kerimli and party executive member Mamed Ibrahim have been interrogated by the State Security Service as part of the ongoing investigation against them.

Following searches of their residences, both have been transferred to the State Security Service. Azerbaijani media reports indicate that the searches and interrogations of Kerimli and Ibrahim are connected to a criminal case being investigated by the State Security Service regarding former head of the presidential administration, Ramiz Mehdiyev.

Mehdiyev has been charged with actions aimed at usurping state power, state treason, as well as legalizing property obtained through criminal means.