Azerbaijan detains official for sharing footage of Armenia border

A government official has been charged with disseminating military information after reportedly taking photos of military positions in villages returned to Azerbaijan by Armenia as part of the border delimitation process.

Adalat Verdiyev, the head of the Civil Defense Headquarters of the Health Ministry’s Centre for Public Health and Reforms, was detained on Monday.

He was charged with sharing state secrets and abuse of office resulting in grave consequences. If found guilty, he could face up to seven years in prison.

Verdiyev, who also works as a reserve officer and military expert, joined a press tour organized by the State Border Service of Gazakh and Khayrimli on 22 November. Khayrimli was one of four villages handed over to Azerbaijan by Armenia as part of the delimitation process in April.

He was detained three days after posting the footage on Facebook.

The General Prosecutor’s Office accused him of sharing military information that is classified as a state secret, by allegedly recording ‘heights of the combat posts of the Armed Forces, the locations, coordinates, and combat situation of the border troops.’

‘Fundamental suspicions have been established that Adalat Verdiyev, using his official powers, caused significant damage to the interests of the Republic of Azerbaijan […] which entailed serious consequences’, the statement said.

Despite his detention, several other journalists who attended the tour also shared content from the village, including Report and APA — two pro-government news agencies.

Khaled Aghali, a media law expert, told OC Media that some of the provisions of the 2004 state secrets law that Verdiyev is accused of breaking ‘have lost their relevance in the light of technological developments’.

‘If information about any deployment or place can be easily seen and studied by everyone using technology, then determining the responsibility for the collection and dissemination of this information seems illogical’, he said.