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Ex-ministers arrested in Azerbaijan one day after dismissal

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BAKU, October 17 (RIA Novosti, Gerai Dadashev) - Two former ministers in Azerbaijan were arrested Thursday just one day after being dismissed from their posts, law enforcers said.

Farhad Aliyev, who was dismissed as Azerbaijan's economic development minister, was arrested on charges of plotting to seize power, the country's law-enforcement agencies said in a joint statement.

According to a law-enforcement source, former Health Minister Ali Insanov was also detained, but it remains unclear if any charges have been brought.

The Prosecutor-General's Office, the Interior Ministry, and National Security Ministry said Aliyev had also been charged with embezzlement and abuse in office. In addition, they said he had illegally owned large amounts of foreign currency, jewelry, artworks and other valuables.

The statement also said the authorities had opened an investigation into activities of Azpetrol, an oil company headed by Aliyev's brother Rafi, who was detained recently at Baku airport, as he apparently was attempting to flee the country.

The authorities claim that Farhad Aliyev was linked with an ex-speaker and the leader of Azerbaijan's Democratic Party, Rasul Guliyev, who was detained in Ukraine Monday. He is on the international wanted list after being charged with embezzling $120 million when he was the head of Baku's main oil refinery in the early 1990s.

Law enforcers said Guliyev had been plotting to seize power in Azerbaijan and had been coordinating preparations for seizing power from overseas. He has lived in exile since 1996, following a split from the ruling Yeni Azerbaijan Party and its chairman, the late President Heydar Aliyev, the father of incumbent leader Ilham Aliyev.

According to media reports, Farhad Aliyev was involved in 'the battle of tycoons', meaning a media battle against the chairman of the State Customs Committee, Kamaladdin

Heydarov, who was allegedly supported by several officials in the presidential staff. Some media sources accused Farhad Aliyev of collaborating with the opposition, namely with Ali Karimli, chairman of the opposition People's Front of Azerbaijan Party.

Last month Farkhad Aliyev told journalists he feared for his life, without identifying a specific threat.

On Wednesday, Minister of Education Misir Mardanov and Minister of Labor and Social Protection Ali Nagiyev were also dismissed from their posts.

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