National Council Head Jamil Hasanli Called in by State Security Service Again

Jamil Hasanli

Jamil Hasanli, who heads the National Council of Democratic Forces, was called in for questioning by the State Security Service (SSS) on December 16. He believes this shows increasing legal pressure on the opposition in Azerbaijan. He was last questioned on November 30 for over three hours as a witness in an important criminal case.

Hasanli wrote on social media that he thinks this call is part of a campaign by media that support the government to hurt his reputation. He mentioned reports that the National Council is linked to Abbas Abbasov, the former First Deputy Prime Minister who authorities want to find. Hasanli said these claims are false. He said he hasn't talked to Abbasov while in Azerbaijan, Russia, or Turkey. He said these claims came up before in 2013 when he got an award from the Turkish Historical Society and sees them as a fabrication to hurt him politically.

The investigation is often called the Ramiz Mehdiyev case, after the former head of the Presidential Administration. Sources that support the government say the National Council was started in 2013 by Mehdiyev and Abbasov to grab power. These claims have been used to take action against opposition figures.

This legal action has caused other political leaders to be arrested. Ali Karimli, head of the Azerbaijan Popular Front Party (APFP), and Mammad Ibrahim, a member of the party's board, are in pre-trial detention. Gultekin Hajibeyli, a member of the National Council, was recently arrested in Turkey and may be sent back to Azerbaijan.

Hasanli and his colleagues say these legal proceedings are without merit. They believe the government is trying to destroy the remaining political opposition. As the Ramiz Mehdiyev case continues, it is causing important people in Azerbaijan's political scene to be interrogated and arrested.