(AP) – An Azerbaijani opposition leader released from detention in Ukraine left this ex-Soviet republic for London on Oct. 21, an ally said.
Rasul Guliyev, whom Azerbaijani officials have accused of plotting to seize power in Azerbaijan, will meet with supporters in the British capital, said an ally who would identify himself only as Mavair.
Guliyev “still intends to return to Azerbaijan soon,” he said.
Guliyev was freed by a Ukrainian court on Oct. 20, three days after he was detained in Simferopol on an international warrant while his plane refueled en route to Azerbaijan. The Ukrainian court called the materials from Azerbaijan insufficient to keep holding Guliyev.
Guliyev was arrested in Ukraine while trying to return from self-imposed exile in the United States to run in Azerbaijan’s Nov. 6 parliamentary elections. Azerbaijani officials want Guliyev on embezzlement charges that Guliyev claims are politically motivated.
On Oct. 20, Azerbaijani officials also implicated Guliyev in a plot to seize power in their oil-rich country. Authorities arrested the country’s former economic development minister in connection with the alleged plot, a move that further heightened tension two weeks before the parliamentary elections.
Azerbaijan’s opposition has looked to Ukraine as an example, after last year’s Orange Revolution there helped usher then-opposition leader, Viktor Yushchenko, into power.
