Azerbaijan's State Security Service releases leaked audio implicating former presidential admin head Ramiz Mehdiyev in 2025 treason case involving alleged coup and assassination plot

On or before February 12, 2024, Azerbaijan’s State Security Service (DTX) released leaked audio recordings capturing a phone conversation between Ramiz Mehdiyev, former head of the presidential administration, and foreign intelligence operatives from Russia. The recorded discussions involve plans on government restructuring and are linked to a wider 2025 treason case. This case includes allegations of an attempted coup and an assassination plot directed against President Ilham Aliyev. The exposure of this material highlights ongoing internal security operations against high-level figures suspected of conspiring with foreign intelligence. It underscores persistent challenges posed by Russian intelligence efforts to influence political stability in Azerbaijan.