Azerbaijani Soldiers Bribe in Dollars: Details by Alen Ghulian

Interesting videos have surfaced from the Azerbaijani territory. This was reported by Alen Ghulian.

“Colonel Gehraman Mensimzadeh of the Azerbaijani Armed Forces sent a video message to Ilham Aliyev yesterday, in which he specifically discusses the corruption prevailing within the Azerbaijani military and numerous violations. In the videos I have attached below, Mensimzadeh talks about how the army has turned into a marketplace where ranks are sold, ranging from 1500 (880$) to 3500 (2050$) manats. Depending on the place of service and rank, it could reach up to 15000 (8800$) manats. The Colonel notes that behind this are the Minister of Defense Zakir Hasanov and the Chief of the General Staff Najmeddin Sadikov, who are making a good amount of money from this.”

“Those soldiers who pay bribes serve in units close to cities and far from the front line, while those who do not pay are sent to the front line. The Colonel proposes to transfer soldiers serving in units near cities to the front line and those serving at the front to the aforementioned units and to confirm the truth of his statements through parental outrage.”

“One of the videos also discusses the illegal actions of the Deputy Chief of General Staff for Combat Preparedness and Head of the Main Department of Military Education, Lieutenant General Nizam Osmanov (threatening soldiers with weapons, causing death, bribery, etc.).”

“According to Colonel Mensimzadeh, General Osmanov charges 3000-4000 (1700-2300$) manats for ordinary officer training, 2000-5000 (1100-2900$) for logistics specialists, and 30,000-50000 (17,600-29,500$) manats for financial specialists.”

“It turns out that the bribery system also operates within Azerbaijan's peacekeeping troops. For example, soldiers bribe in dollars to avoid being involved in the peacekeeping mission in Afghanistan,” he wrote.