A former chief of staff to the Azerbaijani president has been placed under house arrest on charges of treason, attempting to overthrow the state by force, and money laundering, according to reports circulating in pro-government media outlets.
On Tuesday, a Baku court ordered four months of home detention for Ramiz Mehdiyev, 87, citing his advanced age, Qafqazinfo reported. The charges carry a maximum sentence of life imprisonment under Azerbaijan’s criminal code.
In a brief phone interview published by Qafqazinfo, Mehdiyev ended the call when asked about the charges.
Often dubbed the “grey cardinal” by local media, Mehdiyev wielded considerable influence in Azerbaijani politics during nearly 25 years as head of the Presidential Administration. He served as chief of staff to both the current president, Ilham Aliyev, and his father and predecessor, Heydar Aliyev.
Mehdiyev was dismissed by presidential decree in October 2019. On the same day, Aliyev awarded him the country’s highest state honor, suggesting he should “give way to the younger generation,” according to a transcript of the award ceremony published on the official presidential website. Mehdiyev, a noted academic, was also appointed president of Azerbaijan’s National Academy of Sciences (ANAS).
In 2020, Mehdiyev published an official statement on ANAS’s website rebutting “ridiculous and baseless” accusations of ties to Russia being levelled against him in Azerbaijani media and by some MPs.
Following Tuesday’s court decision, Arif Rahimzade, chairman of the Veterans Council of the ruling New Azerbaijan Party (YAP), told the local news agency APA that the party’s leadership would meet in the coming days to discuss expelling Mehdiyev from its ranks.
