A former top officer of Azerbaijan’s counterintelligence service, Colonel Miraziz Asgarov, has been sentenced to four years in jail on corruption charges. Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty reports.
The Baku Military Court issued the ruling on August 7 after finding Asgarov guilty of extortion, bribery, and abuse of office.
Asgarov led the Department of the Main Directorate for Counterintelligence of Azerbaijan’s former Ministry for National Security (MTN).
In December 2015, President Ilham Aliyev dissolved the MTN and created two separate agencies, the State Security Service and the Foreign Intelligence Service.
Some 20 top officials from the dissolved ministry were arrested and charged with corruption at the time.