Last week in the center of Baku a
street race
ended in tragedy, leaving two people dead and two others in serious condition. The grandson of Deputy Prime Minister Ali Hasanov, 22-year-old Nail Allahverdiyev, has been arrested.
Allahverdiyev’s Mercedes
G-Wagon
crashed into a parked car at high speed, ricocheting into three pedestrians and finally into a guardrail, causing the G-Wagon to burst into flames. Two people were killed in the incident: a pedestrian and a passenger from the car that Allahverdiyev struck. The two other pedestrians, a married couple from Turkey, were taken to the hospital where their condition is reported as serious. Allahverdiyev was arrested and sentenced to four months in prison.
Commenting
on the incident, Deputy Prime Minister Hasanov said:
I don’t want to say anything. Regarding the fact that my name has been mentioned in the press, in a constitutional republic each individual is responsible [for their own actions]. I would like members of the media to understand that. I have nothing else to add.
But despite Hasanov’s statement, Nail Allahverdiyev’s relationship to the Deputy Prime Minister continues to draw attention in
press coverage
and on social media.
The Mazda which was racing with the G-Wagon when the incident occurred was driven by Mirmahammad Ismayilov. Ismayilov also comes from a well-connected family, being the son of the former Deputy Head of the State Traffic Police in the Nasimi District of Baku, and his brother works for the police currently. The 22-year-old was sentenced to one month of administrative detention.
Over the past few years there have been a number of
traffic incidents
involving relatives of government officials. In response to the latest incident, the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the Prosecutor General’s Office made pointed reference to Allahverdiyev and Ismayilov’s family connections in a joint
press release
:
In connection [with these arrests] we note that there are still state officials and their family members who have not drawn any conclusions from the serious warnings made repeatedly by the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev, and who continue to commit crimes and abuse their power. The Ministry of Internal Affairs and the Prosecutor General declare once more that the strictest measures will be taken, in accordance with the law, against all officials and their family members who ignore the Head of State’s well-known demands, who by their behavior demonstrate a flagrant lack of respect to society, or who grossly violate existing laws and regulations, regardless of their services, their influence, or the position they hold.
