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A few years ago, the Ministry of National Security (MNS) of Azerbaijan sponsored the production of a film called “Asker,” which attempted to distort the history of Karabakh war for the sake of the imaginary merits of the ministry, Turan agency writes.

The security officers of Azerbaijan decided to ‘privatise’ that topic and involved some Ibad Huseynov in the case. In 2005, Huseynov suddenly declared that he had allegedly killed Monte Melkonian and cut off his head. He started to show the photo everywhere.

“The undertaking, which at first looked stupid and ridiculous, soon attracted active supporters, who decided to make a political and material fortune on that. They started to glorify and praise the ‘hero’ calling the youth to learn from his example. The vigilant MNS made up its mind to grab its share of the pie and presented Huseynov as its intelligence officer,” Turan writes. As a result, the Azerbaijani society was receiving false information for a long time, the agency notes.

Turan highlights that neither the MNS leadership, nor Huseynov himself and nor his patrons took into consideration one fact, that Melkonyan’s funeral was filmed and the video clearly showed that his head was on its place. Despite everything, the MNS long tried to exert pressure on those who first investigated and posted materials exposing the false information.

Back in 2012, a group of Azerbaijani veterans of Karabakh war issued a statement supporting the official version that Monte Melkonian was killed of random shrapnel fired from BMP gun during a battle in the village Merzili. Tofig Jafarov, the commander of a separate reconnaissance company, and Umidvar Mirzoyev, the deputy commander of 708th subdivision, confirmed this. Moreover, one of the members of the BMP crew, Azaddin Musayev, is still on his service in the Armed Forces of Azerbaijan. The supporters of the promotion of Ibad Huseynov’s myth started to threaten the Azerbaijani veterans and their families after the scandalous discovery.

The Armenian side, both specialists and Merzili battle participants, also repeatedly reported many inconsistencies and falsifications of Ibad Huseynov’s version. This, however, did not prevent the Azerbaijani MNS from exploiting the myth of the fake hero Ibad Huseynov. Songs, books and films were dedicated to him. And only now, once the “cleansing” of the MNS leadership started in Azerbaijan, the Azerbaijani media started to run articles exposing Ibad Huseynov’s accomplices.

Two weeks already passed since the “MNS case” kicked off in Azerbaijan. The arrests and dismissals in the ministry had a thrilling effect on the Azerbaijani society, which was mainly used to arrests of opposition-minded politicians, journalists and NGO leaders.

Still, the arrests and scandals in the highest echelons of power are out of the ordinary events, Minval.az points.

“According to the information at our possession, that gang headed by Eldar Mahmudov was preparing a serious anti-government project in Azerbaijan. They controlled the phone and email conversations, as well as money transfers and bank accounts of the top leadership of the country, including the president. That gang created an enormous database and intended to provoke a boom and confrontation by releasing the information,” Minval.az writes highlighting that this was how Wikileaks worked.

Citing newspaper Azadlig, the website notes that Eldar Mahmudov played a role in setting the authorities against the Transport minister Ziya Mammadov. The former MNS head handed discrediting material about Mammadov to the president, which included information about his loans taken from the International Bank of Azerbaijan, as well as his ties with the disfavoured first deputy prime minister of the country, Abbas Abbasov.

Minval.az reports that after Eldar Mahmudov’s dismissal practically all of the people from his close circles, as well as his subordinates were summoned to investigation over numerous appeals, which entrepreneurs started to send. Akif Mustafayev, known by the nickname Akula (“shark”), who was standing close to Mahmudov, reportedly flew to Paris and left for Spain from there.

Those who know Mustafayev say he leaked information about entrepreneurs to the MNS leadership. He offered his “help” to those entrepreneurs appearing as a mediator between them and the MNS officers meanwhile taking huge bribes from them and becoming a co-owner of the 20-30 percent of the businesses of the entrepreneurs he “saved.”

On 17 October 2015, President of Azerbaijan, Ilham Aliyev, signed a decree to dismiss the Minister of National Security, Eldar Mahmudov Ahmad oglu, from his post. Reportedly, an investigation revealed that a group of high-ranking officials had been engaged in criminal actions against entrepreneurs for a long period and gained millions. The activities of the Azerbaijani business elite and well-known representatives of medium-sized business were surveilled with audio spying equipment on Minister Eldar Makhmudov’s order. The MNS generals took an active part in the process. Later, discrediting material was specially filed against those businesspersons, and consequently, the snatch squad of the MNS conducted illegal arrests of businesspeople on the leadership’s order.