Senate Panel Adopts Measures Supporting Artsakh and Armenia, Sanctioning Ankara and Baku

Konstantin Adamov News, Re-Post

ANCA: ‘Congress Is Clearly Turning the Corner on Both Turkey and Azerbaijan’

WASHINGTON—The full U.S. Senate Appropriations Committee adopted a series of provisions as part of its Fiscal Year 2018 (FY18) foreign aid bill on Sept. 7, specifically calling for continued aid to Artsakh and increased assistance to Armenia ($20.7 million), and also imposing weapon and travel sanctions on Turkey and Azerbaijan. Those provisions were supported by the Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA).

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OCCRP blocked in Azerbaijan

Konstantin Adamov Meydan TV, News

On 5 September, the website of the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP) was blocked in Azerbaijan.

The block occurred hours after OCCRP published a major investigation into corruption, bribery, and money-laundering, in which President Aliyev, his family, and other powerful figures are alleged to have been involved. The investigation, known as the Azerbaijani Laundromat, is based on leaked banking records, and details the way in which $2.9 billion was laundered through a series of shell companies and then used to bribe European politicians, buy luxury goods, or move money abroad for other purposes.

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Azerbaijani Laundromat May Have Helped Secure Ax-Murderer Ramil Safarov’s Extradition

Konstantin Adamov News

BUDAPEST, Hungary (A.W.)—Investigations led by the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP) have revealed that that several bank transfers—in excess of $7 million—were made to a Budapest bank account around the time the Hungarian government extradited Azerbaijani ax-murderer Ramil Safarov to Azerbaijan.

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In Azerbaijan, some journalists get free apartments. Others get jail cells.

Konstantin Adamov News

TO CELEBRATE “National Press Day” in Azerbaijan on July 22, President Ilham Aliyev announced the award of 255 apartments to journalists. Four years ago, he inaugurated an apartment building for journalists and gave away 155 flats. Both times, Mr. Aliyev used the same words. “Freedom of speech” is “ensured” in Azerbaijan, he declared.

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Turkish Activist Admits Major Blow When Texas Recognized Armenian Genocide

Konstantin Adamov News

Armenian-Americans knew they had scored a major victory for the recognition of the Armenian Genocide when Texas became the 46th state to recognize it. What Armenian-Americans did not realize is that the recognition by Texas had a devastating impact on the Turkish community’s lobbying efforts in the state.

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Azerbaijan Forces Bulgaria to Fire Reporter Who Exposed Arms Shipments to Terrorists

Konstantin Adamov News

Last month, I wrote about Bulgarian journalist Dilyana Gaytandzhieva’s revelations that Azerbaijan’s state-run Silk Way Airlines had shipped 350 planeloads of heavy weapons and ammunition to terrorist groups in Syria and many other countries in the last three years, under diplomatic cover.

On Aug. 24, Dilyana tweeted: “I just got fired for telling the truth about weapons supplies for terrorists in Syria on diplomatic flights.”

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