The week of 25-29 October saw the visit of the Turkish President to Azerbaijan, a new draft law on the State budget for next year and a theologist arrested for treason.
Erdogan in Azerbaijan: Fuzuli airport opened with Aliyev
Turkish and Azerbaijani presidents Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Ilham Aliyev opened the Fuzuli Airport together on 26 October.
The city is the first of the three planed new airports in the Karabakh region. Economist Gubad Ibadoglu criticizes the infrastructure work, arguing that the millionaire investments will not be profitable and will become an additional cost to State budget.
Erdogan also attended the ground-breaking ceremony for the construction of the Horadiz-Jabrail-Zangilan-Agband highway.
Many construction projects started in Karabakh after last year’s war have been contracted to Turkish companies with agreements that will last decades.
Central government presents a draft law for the 2022 State budget
The draft law on the state budget for 2022 has been submitted to the Milli Majlis (National Assembly of Azerbaijan).
According to the draft text, only fourteen districts will receive allocated funds from the State budget next year. They are in the regions of Karabakh and East Zangazur. The remaining 52 districts and cities will work on the principle of self-financing and will not receive funds from the central government.
The draft budget also includes a social package created to relief citizens’ expenditures due to the increase in energy prices.
Arrested theologian considers himself a victim of Azerbaijan tensions with Iran
Sardar Babayev, a theologian and member of the Assembly of Clergy of Azerbaijan, was arrested on 27 October. He was charged with treason.
Babayev is accused of collaborating with Iranian special services and working against Azerbaijan because his religious education was allegedly received abroad.
His relatives told Meydan TV that he believes his detention was politically motivated. According to the family members, he considers himself a victim of the recent tensions between Iran and Azerbaijan.
He was previously arrested in February 2017 and sentenced to 3 years in prison under the accusations of violation of human rights under the pretext of religious rites.
