Law 13:02 30/03/2013

Azerbaijani authorities accuse American NGO representative in corruption, the U.S. embassy denies accusations

Prosecutor General of Azerbaijan Zakir Garalov turned to the U.S. Ambassador to Azerbaijan Richard Morningstar a day before, accusing Alex Grigorevsa, the representative of the National Democratic Institute (NDI) in Azerbaijan, in unlawful acts, the Azerbaijani news agency APA reports.

In particular, according to the agency, the Prosecutor General of Azerbaijan stated that cash of approximately 2 million dollars were withdrawn from Alex Grigorevs’ bank account without noting a special-purpose.

News portal Haqqin.az reminds in this connection that it was Eynulla Fatullayev who was concerned by the purpose of withdrawing the cash amount of approximately 2 million dollars from the personal bank account of Alex Grigorevs. Fatullayev wrote about it in the article “2 million dollars on “Facebook revolution.”

The agency "APA", citing its own sources, reported that a telephone conversation between the head of the Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov and U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry was held, during which the question of the offices of NDI and OSCE was raised.

But later news agency "Turan" reported with reference to the U.S. Embassy that the information is not true. "The State Department and the private office of John Kerry deny information about the call", the U.S. Embassy press-service reports.

Commenting on the rise of such rumors, one of the former diplomats, who preferred to stay anonymous, told the news agency that such rumors probably are spread by the Azerbaijani authorities. "Official Baku wants to present the situation as if the U.S. is asking Baku not to close the OSCE and NDI offices. Baku on its turn showing "generosity", considers the interests of its partner and concedes,” said the former diplomat, adding that it "seems idiotic."

The "Turan" reports that the U.S. embassy has rejected accusations of the authorities of Azerbaijan against the NDI and its representative in Baku Alex Grigorevs.

"These accusations once again appeared in the letter of Zakir Garalov, Azerbaijani Prosecutor General, which was sent it to the Ambassador Richard Morningstar. This confidential letter, along with a printout of banking printouts once again appeared in pro-government media "accidentally". However, in the letter of Attorney General it was not quite clear who were given the money to and where the crime was, even he had given the money to someone?" the agency says.

"Turan" reminds that earlier, the head of the presidential administration, the true initiator of the campaign according to the agency, Ramiz Mehdiyev stated that if infringement of legality in the NDI is established, Azerbaijan will cease cooperation with NDI.

At the request of the news agency "Turan" the U.S. embassy stated: "We repeat that the NDI and its director work for the support of the civil society and democratic development of Azerbaijan."

"The government of Azerbaijan tends to limit the activities of Western NGOs in Azerbaijan during the presidential election year and try to limit their control not only over the election process, but over the pre-election situation too. However, official Baku is not intended to limit by the expulsion of international NGOs, but also to reduce the status of the OSCE Office till the status of project coordinator. Finishing with its civic society, the Azerbaijani authorities fell to international organizations", adds the agency.

In February 2013 Azerbaijani parliament adopted amendments tightening control over the use of grants and donations from NGOs, religious and other structures. According to the amendments penalties for absence of registration of contracts were seriously increased as well as benefits from foreign NGOs without the grant contract, etc. As "Turan" noted, that in reality it means a further tightening of many human rights and democratic NGOs in Azerbaijan. Many of these NGOs do not have state registration because of the refusal of the authorities. However, they receive grants from foreign donors. Now, the state bodies of Azerbaijan will refuse registration of grant agreements, referring to the fact that NGOs do not have state registration. 



Source Panorama.am
Share |
Տեքստում սխալ կամ վրիպակ նկատելու դեպքում, ուղարկեք խմբագրին հաղորդագրություն` նշելով տվյալ սխալը, այնուհետև սեղմելով Ctrl-Enter:

Newsfeed

17:00
Robert Kocharyan to skip re-consecration of Etchmiadzin cathedral
Second Armenian President Robert Kocharyan will not attend the blessing of the Holy Chrism (Muron) on Saturday and the re-consecration of the...
16:30
Analyst: Armenian authorities ready to make any concession to Azerbaijan and Turkey
The South Caucasus has never been a region of strategic importance for the United States, political analyst Suren Sargsyan claims. “No...
15:36
Temperatures to drop across Armenia
Rain is expected in Armenia’s regions on Saturday and next week. Foggy conditions are possible in some parts of the country, the...
14:58
Armenian, Latvian FMs meet in New York
On the sidelines of the 79th session of the UN General Assembly in New York, Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan on Saturday met...
14:35
MEP urges Azerbaijan to release Armenian prisoners
Member of the European Parliament (MEP) Fernand Kartheiser calls on Azerbaijan to guarantee Armenia’s territorial integrity, preserve...
14:05
Opposition MP: Azerbaijan put forward another precondition to Armenia
Azerbaijan has put forward another precondition for a peace deal with Armenia, opposition deputy Tigran Abrahamyan says. “Against the...
13:34
Armenia reports no new West Nile virus cases in one week
No new cases of West Nile fever were confirmed in Armenia in the past week, the National Center for Disease Control and Prevention reported on...
13:20
Israeli military says Hezbollah leader killed in Beirut strike
The Israeli military has said it has killed Hezbollah’s leader, Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, in a series of strikes on a southern suburb of...
13:00
Armenian weightlifter Ashot Movsisyan wins bronze at Junior World Championships
Armenia's Ashot Movsisyan clinched a bronze medal at the IWF Junior World Weightlifting Championships in Leon, Spain on Friday. He...
12:30
Middle East on the brink of major war, Russia's Lavrov says
The Middle East is on the cusp of a major war, which "some people want very much," Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said....
12:14
Serzh Sargsyan won't attend re-consecration of Etchmiadzin cathedral
Third Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan has refused to attend the blessing of the Holy Chrism (Muron) on Saturday and the re-consecration of the...
11:35
Armenia, Palestine establish diplomatic ties
Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan and Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammad Mustafa signed a joint declaration on establishing...
11:25
Armenian church commemorates St. George the Captain
The Armenian Apostolic Church on Saturday commemorates Sts George the Captain (George the Warrior), Adoktos and Romanos the Singer. St...
11:00
Noubar Afeyan calls for immediate release of Ruben Vardanyan, other Armenian prisoners
Entrepreneur and philanthropist Noubar Afeyan urges the Azerbaijani authorities to immediately release Ruben Vardanyan and all other...
17:03
Temperatures to drop further across Armenia
Scattered rain is expected in Armenia’s regions on Friday, Saturday and next week. Foggy conditions are possible in some parts of the...
16:30
Khachanov makes it to second round of China Open
Russian-Armenian Karen Khachanov, the No 7 seed, won against Spanish lucky loser Roberto Carballes Baena 6-4, 6-4 to move into the second round...
16:06
Opposition MP blames Pashinyan's government for 2020 war defeat
Opposition deputy Tigran Abrahamyan accused Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan's government of deliberately leading the country to defeat in the...
15:36
‘National disgrace': Opposition leader slams Pashinyan's meeting with Erdogan in New York
Seyran Ohanyan, the leader of the opposition Hayastan faction in the Armenian parliament, said opposition forces were striving to prevent the...
15:05
NSW MPs call on Australians to boycott COP29
Three members of the New South Wales Parliament have delivered powerful addresses on the floor of the Legislative Assembly to mark the first...
14:32
Archbishop Sahak Mashalyan arrives at Mother See
Archbishop Sahak Mashalyan, Armenian Patriarch of Constantinople, on Friday arrived at the Mother See of Holy Echmiadzin, the Armenian church...
14:04
Artsakh president commemorates 2020 war anniversary
Artsakh President Samvel Shahramanyan on Friday visited the Yerablur Military Pantheon in Yerevan to pay tribute to fallen soldiers on the...
13:30
Alen Simonyan to reportedly attend re-consecration of Etchmiadzin cathedral
Armenian National Assembly Speaker Alen Simonyan will attend the re-consecration ceremony of the Mother Cathedral in Etchmiadzin on Sunday,...
13:03
No decision yet on next stage of Armenian-Azeri border delimitation, official says
No decision has yet been made on the next stage of the Armenian-Azerbaijani border delimitation process, Armenian Deputy Prime Minister Mher...
12:34
Ruben Vardanyan, other Armenian leaders mark one year as political prisoners in Azerbaijan
Today marks the first anniversary of the arbitrary arrest by Azerbaijani authorities of eight Armenian leaders, commencing with the arrest of...
12:15
Ex-defense minister set to become Japan's next PM
After five tries, former Defense Minister Shigeru Ishiba will finally lead the Liberal Democratic Party — and Japan, The Japan Times...
12:03
Pashinyan at UN: Armenian proverb says, 'Let us speak the positive in order to be well'
As part of his working visit to New York, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan on Thursday delivered a speech at the 79th session...
11:36
Armenian deputy PM acknowledges problems in relations with Russia
Armenian Deputy Prime Minister Mher Grigoryan acknowledged problems in relations with Russia and other countries. "We need to make...
11:15
Artsakh president pays tribute to fallen soldiers on war anniversary
Artsakh President Samvel Shahramyan on Friday visited the Yrablur Military Pantheon in Yerevan to pay homage to fallen soldiers on the...
11:00
Armenia, Azerbaijan agree to put additional efforts towards signing of peace deal
On September 26, under the initiative and with participation of U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat...
17:15
Wheat production in Armenia unprofitable, economy minister says
Wheat production in Armenia is economically unprofitable, Minister of Economy Gevorg Papoyan told reporters outside the Armenian government...

Follow us and get updates!

Most popular articles

{"core.blocks.header.spell_message1":"Selected mistake: ","core.blocks.header.spell_message2":"Send a message about the mistake?"}