Azerbaijan Arrests Man Suspected of Treason, Espionage

Azerbaijan's State Security Service (SSS) has arrested a man suspected of cooperating with foreign intelligence services and committing acts of treason.

Ongoing operational-investigative measures aimed at uncovering and preventing intelligence and subversive activities targeting Azerbaijan’s national security led to suspicions that Farzaliyev Siyafat Heydar oglu, a 1969-born citizen of Azerbaijan, committed acts of treason, the SSS said in a statement, The Caspian Post reports.

According to the statement, the investigations revealed that while visiting a foreign country, a resident of the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic, Siyafat Farzaliyev, was involved in secret cooperation in exchange for a material gain by representatives of the special service agencies of that state, and after returning to the country, on their instructions, he made video recordings of military and other strategically important facilities located in the territories of Nakhchivan city and Shahbuz district and passed to representatives of the foreign special service agencies.

Furthermore, during a search of the apartment where the mentioned person lived, separate parts of a “Kalashnikov” type automatic weapon were discovered and seized from there.

Siyafat Farzaliyev was charged under Articles 228.1 (illegal acquisition, transfer, sale, storage, transportation or carrying of firearms, their components, ammunition, explosives and devices) and 274 (treason) of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Azerbaijan, and was remanded in custody by a court decision.

Investigative and operational measures related to the criminal case are ongoing.