Rights defenders link preparation of murder attempt on Mirzali with his statements about Alievs

The preparation in France of an assassination attempt on Mukhammed Mirzali, an oppositional Azerbaijani blogger, was another attempt to intimidate the authorities' critics living abroad, the experts interviewed by the "Caucasian Knot" are sure.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that on June 14, two alleged killers were detained in France; they were preparing an assassination attempt on Mukhammed Mirzali.

The attempt may be revenge for the failed prosecution of Mirzali in the court of Nantes, Emin Akhmedbekov, an Azerbaijani political migrant, has suggested. "Officials from President Aliev's regime had filed three lawsuits against Mirzali for the protection of honour and dignity in France. They want his public apologies and a fine of one euro. The first trial was on June 8. The Nantes court rejected the lawsuit and refused to initiate a criminal case," Mr Akhmedbekov has explained.

He has added that another aim of the attempt was "to intimidate all the critics [of Azerbaijani authorities] living abroad."

The reason for the attempt was the manner of Mirzali's statements, in which he uses obscene language, said Arif Yunus, the head of the conflictology department of the Institute for Peace and Democracy (Azerbaijan-Netherlands). However, he agrees that one of the goals of the assassination attempt on Mirzali is to intimidate all oppositionists: "Ilham Aliev's policy that he has been pursuing against dissidents since the first days of coming to power means terror, repressions and liquidation of his political opponents-oppositionists not only figuratively, but also in the literal sense."

This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on June 23, 2022 at 11:50 pm MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.