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The head of the NGO "Enhancing the protection of democracy" Vidadi Iskenderli in connection with the terrorist threat and the illegal arrest stated about the renunciation of Azerbaijani citizenship, reports the Azerbaijani news portal Moderator.az.
"As a human rights organization, we inform that the terrorist attacks and threats against the head of the organization - a human rights activist, former "prisoner of conscience" Vidadi Iskenderli and his family – are undeniable facts. The head of the human rights organization, systematically fighting against corruption and bribery, is deprived of the support from the government and law enforcement agencies in connection with the assassination attempts against him and threats of terrorism. If the state and security forces do not undertake preventive measures, the act of terror can be carry out on any day," reads the statement released by the portal.

The statement notes that after the formal declaration of Vidadi Iskenderli, the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Azerbaijan has started investigation which lasted 5 months and found customers and perpetrators of the acts of terrorism and assassination attempts of human rights defender. The Interior Ministry, however, refused to initiate criminal proceedings.

In this regard, Vidadi Iskenderli on October 2, in 2014 turned to the people of Azerbaijan and the international community by Internet TV. His appeal was published in Youtube. After that, government agencies informed of his imminent arrest. The organization was also informed that terrorist acts will be carried out against the human rights activist and his family.

As stated in the article, given all this, Vidadi Iskenderli refers to the leading countries of the world and international human rights organizations and formally requests the United States to grant him an asylum. He demanded from the President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev to ensure the safety of his family. "Regarding all of these illegal actions, Vidadi Iskenderli’s family has renounced citizenship of Azerbaijan, noting that, before they leave the country, President Ilham Aliyev will be responsible for the safety of his family," read the statement.