The week of March 27 – 31 saw plans for IDPs to return to Lachin, Azerbaijan’s new embassy in Israel, and a blogger arrested after post about the police.
President Aliyev announced that the displaced people will return to Lachin by the end of the year
President Ilham Aliyev said that IDPs will return to Lachin by the end of 2023, announcing it while receiving Masim Mammadov, his newly appointed special representative to the Lachin region.
The president recalled that as soon as the 2020 Fall War ended, the works on the reconstruction of the Lachin district were started. According to him, “eight high-rise residential buildings are being rebuilt or completely renovated, and more than 30 public buildings are being built. We should finish all these works by the end of this year, this will be only the first stage.”
He also affirmed that the process of reconstruction of other villages, such as Zabukh and Sus, has been started. The area of Lachin and the villages fell under Azerbaijan’s control after the 2020 War.
Israel’s Foreign Minister: “We must act together against Iran”
” We cooperate in regional security, energy, tourism, and other fields. Azerbaijan has one of the largest Jewish communities in the Muslim world.
Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen told the press after meeting with his Azerbaijani counterpart Jeyhun Bayramov on March 29. The minister noted that the decision to open the Azerbaijani embassy in Israel shows the depth of strategic relations between the two countries and said that Iran threatens the region and creates instability in the Middle East by supporting and financing terrorism.
Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov said that cooperation between the two countries is based on mutual understanding, respect, and common interests. Bayramov noted that the Jewish community living in Azerbaijan and the Azerbaijani community in Israel have an important role in strengthening bilateral relations.
Blogger is arrested after posting on Facebook about the police
Blogger Nurlan Jafarov (Jafarli), who cooperates with various internet televisions, was arrested. A 15-day administrative detention order was issued against him in the Yasamal District Court.
Nurlan Jafarli was among the journalists who recorded the protest action held by the members of the Azerbaijan Popular Front Party (APFP) in front of the Ministry of Justice at noon on March 30. After the action, he sent an appeal to the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Elshad Hajiyev, head of the department of the ministry’s press service, from his Facebook account. In his appeal, he stated that he was subjected to police violence and his phone was broken while filming for the Time TV channel as a media representative in the protest.
Nurlan Jafarli was arrested two hours after this appeal.
