FORMER HEALTH MINISTER ALI INSANOV SENTENCED TO 11

C O N F I D E N T I A L BAKU 000497

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 04/24/2017
TAGS: PGOV PREL PHUM KDEM AJ
SUBJECT: FORMER HEALTH MINISTER ALI INSANOV SENTENCED TO 11
YEARS FOR CORRUPTION

REF: A. BAKU 300


B. BAKU 472

Classified By: DEPUTY CHIEF OF MISSION JASON P. HYLAND PER 1.4(B,D)


1. (SBU) On April 20, the Baku Court of Grave Crimes found
former GOAJ Health Minister Ali Insanov guilty of public
corruption and sentenced him to 11 years in prison. In
addition to Insanov, ten other defendants - all former
Ministry of Health officials - were convicted and sent to
prison on charges including abuse of power, misuse of state
property, and corruption (see ref a). The widely expected
verdict was covered by all major print and electronic media
outlets.


2. (SBU) Separately, on April 19, police in Sumgayit detained
Rizvan Talibov, the head of Union of the Return to Western
Azerbajian, a group claiming to represent the clan from which
Insanov originates. Reportedly Talibov was provoked into a
scuffle on board a local bus in the city of Sumgayit (40
kilometers north of Baku). Police arrested Talibov on charges
of "hooliganism." Commentators speculate that Talibov has
been detained for recently announcing that his group would
hold a rally with the opposition party Musavat, an agreement
Musavat Deputy Chair Arif Hajili confirmed. However, the
April 22 rally, which the group had planned to carry out in
the historically significant Freedom Square, did not take
place.


3. (C) COMMENT: While the April 20 verdict made major
headlines, all eyes are on the upcoming trial of detained
former Minister of Economic Development Farhad Aliyev, slated
to begin May 15. We seek the Department's guidance on press
guidance proposed in ref b.
DERSE