Azernews.Az

The editor-in-chief of Azerbaijan’s opposition-leaning Khural newspaper, Avaz Zeynally, said a recording device had been discovered in his office.
He claimed at a news conference Thursday that the "bug" was found in the electornic table clock presented to him two months ago by Mahammad Arsoy, the Umid Party deputy chairman and editor of the Bizim Gundem newspaper.
"Having suspected that there was a voice recorder inside the clock, we took the clock apart together with the editorial office employees and saw that there was a hand-made recording device there."
Zeynally said Khural had approached the Interior Ministry to investigate who had planted the device and why.
Sadig Gozalov, the ministry spokesman, told the newspaper editor that he had informed Minister Ramil Usubov about the incident and the matter was under his oversight.
According to Zeynally, Arsoy, who came to the Khural office after the recording device had been found, said he was unaware of this and that he had received the clock from his acquaintance as a gift.
The opposition Umid Party issued a statement Thursday denying its link with the "bug" planting row. It also said that Arsoy is not Umid’s deputy chairman but a member of its Supreme Council.
The party leadership also warned that Arsoy would be expelled from the party if he fails to bring clarity to the matter.*