Agaev: gold coins were planted on Muradverdiev in Baku Airport

Akif Muradverdiev, the former head of the office of the Azerbaijani president, who was arrested on June 20 on charges of contraband, is kept at the SIZO (pre-trial prison) of the Ministry of National Security (MNS) of Azerbaijan.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that Akif Muradverdiev was detained in the morning on June 20 in Baku Airport prior his flight to Moscow. Muradverdiev is charged under Article 206.1 (contraband) of the Criminal Code; and in the evening on June 20 the Sabail District Court of Azerbaijan ruled to arrest him for two months.

Arif Babaev, the head of the Public Relations Centre of the MNS, told the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent that Muradverdiev tried to take out old gold coins of Imperial Russia without declaring them at the customs.

"Contraband is not a crime that should be investigated by the MNS – it is the responsibility of the customs authorities," the lawyer Fuad Agaev told the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent. He believes that the arrest of Muradverdiev was politically motivated.

"Despite the fact that in recent years Akif Muradverdiev has been far from politics, he has a rather high political weight in Azerbaijan. On the eve of the presidential election, Azerbaijani authorities are afraid of any consolidation of their opponents," said the lawyer.