Azeri interior minister reportedly says editor’s murder terror attack

Azad Azarbaycan TV, Baku
8 Apr 05

[Presenter] [Azerbaijani] Interior Minister Ramil Usubov has put
forward a new theory for the murder of the editor-in-chief of Monitor
magazine, Elmar Huseynov.

At a meeting with the secretary-general of the international
organization Reporters Without Borders, Robert Menard, the minister
said that the journalist might have been killed by a criminal gang
from Armenia and North Caucasus.

[Correspondent] Criminal gangs from Armenia and North Caucasus
might have been involved in the murder of the editor-in-chief
of Monitor magazine, Elmar Huseynov. The secretary-general of the
international organization Reporters Without Borders, Robert Menard,
spoke to journalists after his meeting with Interior Minister Ramil
Usubov. The secretary-general also clarified why Ramil Usubov had
handed the criminal case into the murder of Elmar Huseynov over to
the National Security Ministry.

[Menard, captioned, in French with Azeri voice-over] The minister
told me that the case had been handed over to the National Security
Ministry because that was a terrorist attack. They believe that
Elmar was murdered because of his activities. He did not rule out
a link between his murder and [ex-Interior Ministry official] Haci
Mammadov’s gang, either. He believes that Elmar could have been killed
by a group of people trying to disturb stability in the country. Ramil
Usubov did not rule out even the involvement of groups from Armenia
and North Caucasus in this case.

[Correspondent] Robert Menard also stressed that at the meeting with
Ramil Usubov he wanted to draw parallels between the murder of Elmar
Huseynov and the murder of Ukrainian journalist Heorhiy Gongadze. But
the interior minister did not agree with Robert Menard and said
that the law-enforcement agencies were working towards finding the
criminal soon.

[Menard] There, I insistently tried to liken this murder to Heorhiy
Gongadze’s murder. Mr Minister told me that this case had nothing
to do with the Gongadze case and that the Azerbaijani government was
working towards finding the criminal.

[Correspondent] The secretary-general attached importance to
extensive media coverage of the investigation into the murder of Elmar
Huseynov. Robert Menard said that he would also inform [Azerbaijani]
President Ilham Aliyev of his ideas.

[Video showed the briefing]