Azeri businessman faced baseless charges: Kyrgyz rights defender
BAKU – Kyrgyzstan’s senior rights defender said Tuesday that the Azerbaijani businessman recently arrested in Bishkek had faced unfounded charges.
"The charges’ being baseless was confirmed during the trial," Kyrgyz Ombudsman Tursunbek Akun told a news conference during a visit to Azerbaijan.
Ethnic Azerbaijani British citizen, Vugar Khalilov, the head of the Flexible Communications public relations agency, was arrested on April 12, following a change of power in the Central Asian state. He was charged with legalizing unlawfully acquired money. But observers say that the actual reason for Khalilov’s arrest could have been his close ties with Maksim Bakiyev, the son of Kyrgyzstan’s deposed President Kurmanbek Bakiyev. Khalilov was acquitted in September and released.
The Kyrgyz ombudsman said he was unaware of the businessman’s activities in the country and was informed about his apprehension by one of his close acquaintances.
"Further, I enquired about the issue and met with his loved ones. The scrutiny revealed that along with Vugar, his attorney was detained and was held for 48 hours. I substantially addressed the matter and sent several letters to the head of state."
According to Akun, Khalilov was released due to the efforts of Kyrgyzstan’s Ombudsman office and rights champions.
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