Friday, July 18 2014

 Director of the Research Center "Region" Laura Baghdasaryan made a statement to deny the accusations of the Prosecutor General's Office and the Ministry of National Security of Azerbaijan, which accuse her of espionage, Turan reports.  

"My name is Laura Seyranovna, not Stepanovna, as stated in the statement of MNS and the Prosecutor's Office of Azerbaijan. Information about me is in the public domain on the Internet. Our center has spent a lot of activities in various projects with experts and journalists from Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Turkey, Ukraine, the EU, Russia, etc. These events were held in the online mode, in the eyes of the Internet users, and not in the territory of a third country. These online conferences, online interviews, analytical articles, surveys, interviews of experts from different countries - the countries of the South Caucasus, Turkey, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Ukraine, EU, Russia and others, are published in the open access. By the way, we had a closer look at our sites - www.caucasusjournalists.net (from 2003 to 2011), www.regioncenter.info (2001 - till present), and www.publicdialogues.info (2012-2014).

There is also information about donors - the U.S. government, the UK, Poland, EU, European Commission, NATO Headquarters, etc. The statement says that our center, which is "under the direct control of the Armenian secret service tries to create a connection with Azerbaijani citizens working in NGO and the media, attracting them to their worldview and political views. "Yes, me as an analyst and project manager attracted and attract specialists not only in Azerbaijan but also in other countries who are able to express their views in a civilized way, and provide professional assessment. These are two main criteria for the invitation of different experts from different countries, not only from Azerbaijan. If the Prosecutor General's Office and the Ministry of National Security see these qualities as a basis for prosecutions and charges, then - sorry, this has to go to other destinations," says Baghdasaryan. 

"The statement claimed that I had a meeting in February 2009 with Rauf Mirkadirov in one of the cafes in Tbilisi, and the video, taken in such a funny method by the guardians of the security of Azerbaijan, shows this. However, intelligence agencies must prove that: - Mirkadyrov's part in our projects is a criminal offense; - Mirkadyrov, besides the above written material (sent, by the way, on the Internet in the public domain) forwarded me videos and schemes that have at least some connection with the military and other important areas of Azerbaijan, - Mirkadyrov since 2008 could be the bearer of state secrets; - Getting a signature fee for participation in an open international event is a legally valid proof of Mirkadyrov's "espionage." If we are actually spies, why did I have to pay Mirkadirov openly in a Tbilisi restaurant to be noticed by some Samvel? Was not it possible to send money to Baku via Leyla Yunus?
And the events of 2008-2009: 1. If the authorities of Azerbaijan have learned about the "betrayal" of Mirkadirov 5-6 years ago, how did they let him freely pass me state secrets for such a long time? 2. If the authorities of Azerbaijan learned about the "betrayal" of Mirkadirov before his arrest, why was the record from February 2009 (!) sent to Azerbaijan in a parcel only now? 3. If Mirkadirov is yet a carrier of state secrets, then why did the Azerbaijani authorities allow him to leave the country and stay in Turkey for several years? " says Laura Baghdasaryan. 

To note, the Ministry of National Security and the General Prosecutor's Office issued a joint statement on the case of Rauf Mirkadirov. This statement appeared on the site of the prosecutor office morning of July 17. However, on the eve of the authorities gave leakage publishing this document in a number of pro-government media.

The statement said that there were "reasonable suspicions of conscious cooperation of Mirkadirov's treason in cooperation with the secret police of Armenia," in connection with which he was arrested on April 19 and April 21 this year arrested under Article 274 of the Criminal Code.
Further, the report presents "detective" story that some citizens of Azerbaijan, whose names were not disclosed, when in Georgia, received two discs from a man named Samvel. Browsing the titles, they realized that the shooting affects national interests and security of Azerbaijan. Therefore, these discs were sent by registered mail to the Prosecutor General of Azerbaijan.

"The disks imprinted shot from February 2, 2009, made in one of the restaurants in Tbilisi. The shooting was without mounting elements and it can be seen that Rauf Mirkadirov talks with Laura Baghdasaryan and Araik Shirvanyan and gets money from them and signs this."
Rauf Mirkadirov had been cooperating with the Region Center, which is headed by Laura Baghdasaryan, since 2008.

"According to the operative data, the center is operated by the Armenian secret service to collaborate with well-known representatives of civil society and media in Azerbaijan, inviting them to events in other countries.
In fact, the aim is to engage in reconnaissance and sabotage activities, and by material interest, get information about the socio-political situation in the country, economic projects, and possible changes in the Karabakh settlement on the military situation," the statement said.
Next MNS and the Prosecution argue that the Centre Region under the guise of journalism has been operating since 2002 and in this regard, makes cooperation with the Institute for Peace and Democracy, led by Leyla Yunus.

"In order to obtain intelligence information and with the help of grants from foreign donors, the Centre organized trips of Mirkadirov to Armenia. At the same time they made ??serious attempts to engage several citizens of Azerbaijan."
Further, the report says that during an international conference with the participation of representatives of Armenia, Turkey and Azerbaijan Rauf Mirkadirov held a "closed meeting with the former chief of the National Security Service of Armenia David Shahnazaryan.

After this meeting, Mirkadyrov in his e-mails with Laura Baghdasaryan noted that he agrees with Shahnazaryan on the Karabakh conflict settlement.
Next he collected and forwarded representing state secret materials about the socio-political situation, the military-technical potential, military units, airfields, energy and other strategic sites along with diagrams and photographs.

In addition, the messages conveyed by Mirkadirov included schemes and photographs of the Zikh highway, which is purported to be used by U.S. aircraft as the runway for future U.S. military action against Iran, and said that the Azerbaijani authorities have agreed to conduct such operations.
These data were used by special services of Armenia to harm Azerbaijani-Iranian relations,o the statement said.

In 2008-2013 Rauf Mirkadirov made several visits to Armenia via Georgia and did not inform the management of his newspaper, the public and the authorities of Azerbaijan of this.

"Feeling threatened with exposure of his espionage activities Mirkadirov left Azerbaijan on July 29, 2010, and permanently resided in Turkey without coming to Azerbaijan. After the liquidation of his accreditation by the Turkish authorities, Mirkadirov appealed for help to David Shahnazaryan to support his family," the statement reads, contact.az reported.