US Senate to debate sanctions against Azerbaijani officials
The Committee on Appropriations of the U.S. Senate has approved an amendment to the bill on Foreign Operations for the 2018th fiscal year, providing for visa sanctions against the Azerbaijani officials involved in the arrest of Mehman Aliyev, the director of the Turan news agency.
As the agency reported on Friday, the author of the proposed amendment is American senator Richard Durbin. The document provides for a ban on the entry to the US of all officials related to the arrest of Aliyev. The amendment requests the US Secretary of State to identify officials who will be subject to sanctions.
To remind, Mehman Aliyev was detained on August 24 and charged for tax evasion, misuse of official powers and illegal business with the extraction of large income.
International organizations condemned Aliyev's arrest as politically motivated and called for his immediate release. The U.S State Department earlier urged the Azerbaijani authorities to comply with their international obligations in the field of human rights.