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Head of the Presidential Administration Ramiz Mehdiyev did not attend the two major events that took place this week. As the Azerbaijani website “Haqqin.az” reports, head of the public policy department of the Administration Ali Hasanov told that Ramiz Mehdiyev was in a short vacation. He took vocation at the beginning of the week and will return to work on February 15.

The article says that on February 11 Mahmud Kerimov’s, who is president of Azerbaijan National Academy of Sciences (ANAS), farewell ceremony was held. The farewell ceremony was attended by President Ilham Aliyev, Prime Minister Artur Rasizade, ministers and MPs. However, the member of ANAS, academician Ramiz Mehdiyev did not attend the ceremony.

Ramiz Mehdiyev did not attend also the conference chaired by President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev. The conference was dedicated to the results of the fourth year of the state program on socio-economic development of the Republic of Azerbaijan from 2009 to 2013 that was held on 12 February with the participation of the Prime Minister, ministers and heads of executive authorities.

“The fact of taking the second short vacation of the head of presidential administration is surprising, especially during such a period full of internal political events,” the article says.

Haqqin.az also notes that as soon as the former deputy Gular Ahmadova was arrested the former rector of the International University Elshad Abdullayev gave a new sensational interview. As Elshad Abdullaev told a radio Freedom correspondent, after Gular Ahmadova’s arrest the turn of Ramiz Mehdiyev, who is the head of the Presidential Administration, had come, because it was Ramiz Mehdiyev who patronized both Gular Ahmadova who is under arrest and S. Babayeva who was killed.

Elshad Abdullayev says that the head of the criminal gang that has carried out the kidnapping and murder is Ramiz Mehdiyev. “Therefore, I believe that Prosecutor General's Office should proceed against Ramiz Mehdiyev, since this official had organized other custom proceedings in our country.”

Late in September 2011 a video was spread in the Internet where the former rector of International University of Azerbaijan Elshad Abdullayev was bargaining with Azerbaijani MP Gular Ahmedova about the amount of the bribe which the rector was to pay to be “elected” as MP. After the video was coverd in the Internet a criminal case on “fraud” was opened. Guler Ahmadova appealed to Parliament to rescind her mandate, and on October 3, CEC recognized her mandate invalid.

Abdullayev said that he applied to various state bodies of Azerbaijan in connection with the abduction of his brother. He also noted that he had met with the head of the Azerbaijani Presidential Administration Ramiz Mehdiyev and had discussed with him a number of questions. Mehdiyev declared Abdullayev’s all statements “libel”, but he did not deny the fact that the meeting had taken place.