On November 1, the State Security Service of Azerbaijan (SSS) conducted an operation in the Ministry of Culture. It was reported that Elnur Aliyev was brought under investigation. On November 2, Ilkin Nasibov, the head of the Supply and Property Department of the Ministry of Culture, was sentenced to 4 months in prison.
On November 3, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev dismissed Elnur Aliyev from the post of First Deputy Minister of Culture of the Republic of Azerbaijan. The Sabail District Court confirmed this information. The petition of the investigative body was considered and granted in the Sabail District Court. However, there was no information about the charges on which the head of the department was arrested.
Earlier, in 2020, SSS conducted an operation at the Ministry of Culture. Rafig Bayramov, the former Deputy Minister, and Zakir Sultanov, the former head of the State Service for the Protection, Development, and Restoration of Cultural Heritage, were arrested. They were accused of embezzlement and other acts. In court, R. Bayramov was sentenced to 8 years and Z. Sultanov to 11 years in prison. However, the sentences were later reduced to about half in both cases. They did not accept the accusation. The former Deputy Minister, who said in court that he was a supporter of Aliyev all his life, later added: "I have not received bribes in my life. No one here said that I received bribes from them or anyone else."
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