Azerbaijan: Air Force Chief Murder Remains a Mystery

More than a week after the February 11 murder of the commander of Azerbaijan's air force and anti-aircraft defenses, officials are remaining tight-lipped about their investigation.

Lt. Gen. Rail Rzayev was shot and killed while sitting in his car in downtown Baku. [For background see the Eursasia Insight archive]. The General Prosecutor's Office, the Ministry of Defense, the Ministry of the Interior, and the Ministry of National Security are running a joint investigation into Rzayev's death.

A Military Prosecutor's Office source, who asked not to be identified, told EurasiaNet that Rzayev was killed by a sniper's bullet shot through the back windshield of the general's Mercedes. Since neither Rzayev's driver nor any other witness heard the shot, investigators believe that a silencer was used, the source said. (Rzayev's driver has told Lider TV that he was throwing garbage away at the time of the shooting).

Nearby security cameras and armed security details might help fix the moment of the crime. Rzayev was shot in front of the building where Minister of National Security Eldar Makhmudov lives, a residence with a 24-hour armed guard. A branch of the International Bank of Azerbaijan on the building's ground floor has several security cameras.

Quoting unnamed law enforcement sources, the independent news portal Lent.az reported on February 18 that the security cameras and unnamed witnesses have led to a composite sketch of a suspected killer, a middle-aged man. No other details were provided.

Officials, however, do not confirm the report. General Prosecutor's Office spokesperson Eldar Sultanov told EurasiaNet that investigators are working on several different potential scenarios. "If necessary, the public will be provided with additional information about the investigation," Sultanov said.

Rzayev's replacement has not yet been named; conceivably, in keeping with Muslim observance of a 40-day mourning period. Defense Ministry spokesperson Eldar Sabiroglu told EurasiaNet that "one of [Rzayev's] deputies is acting commander now." He did not reveal the name of the acting head.

In the absence of official information about the investigation, local media have swung between both potential domestic and foreign motivations for the murder.

The fact that Defense Minister Safar Abiyev, General Prosecutor Zakir Garalov and Minister of National Security Makhmudov did not attend Gen. Rzayev's funeral, or a February 11 meeting with President Ilham Aliyev to discuss the murder investigation, has attracted widespread attention.

Spokespersons for the Defense Ministry and the General Prosecutor's Office said that Abiyev and Garalov, respectively, were on vacation outside of Azerbaijan at the time of Rzayev's murder. The Ministry of National Security has declined to comment the whereabouts of its chief, Eldar Makhmudov.

General Prosecutor Garalov reportedly returned to work several days later. A Defense Ministry spokesperson said on February 18 that Abiyev was still on vacation. The ministry later announced that the minister was scheduled to attend a North Atlantic Treaty Organization summit in Krakow on February 19.

Azerbaijani media have speculated about both a potential Russian and Western interest in the crime, but without providing any factual basis for such hypotheses.

One military expert, however, believes that the murder could be linked to Rzayev's past activities as air force chief. "During his 17 years of service as Air Force commander, he had several ill-wishers in the [Defense] Ministry and government," noted Uzeir Jafarov, a former Defense Ministry official. "Rzayev was in the center of many events, and had inside information about how funds allocated for defense capacity-building are spent."

In an interview with the Azerbaijani service of RFE/RL, however, Rzayev's widow, Mahira Rzayeva, stated that her husband had not discussed any problems at work in the days leading up to his death, and had been in a normal mood. "Anyway, he never talked about his job with his family," Rzayeva said.

One former deputy minister of national security has focused on Russia's alleged interests. Baku's attempts to bring its air defense system in line with NATO standards may have irritated Moscow, contended Sulhaddin Akbar, one of the leaders of the opposition Musavat Party who served as deputy minister of national security from 1992 to 1993.

"Azerbaijan's air defense system is currently undergoing modernization with US and Turkish support, and Rzayev was closely involved in discussions with US and Turkish representatives," he said in an interview with the Baku daily Ayna.

Rzayev's relatively low public profile is likely to fuel conjecture. Although head of Azerbaijan's Air Force since 1992, Rzayev was rarely quoted or shown during 2007 talks about the Gabala radar station between Azerbaijan, Russia, and the United States. [For background see the Eurasia Insight archive]. Russian Ambassador to Azerbaijan Vasily Istratov was the only representative of Baku's foreign diplomatic corps to attend the general's funeral.

The general had most recently gained public attention in December 2008 after Air Force planes forced the landing of Minister of Emergency Situations Kamaladdin Heydarov's helicopter. Local opposition media have also named Rzayev in corruption scandals related to Air Force budget management.

Nevertheless, Rzayev apparently enjoyed the personal trust of President Aliyev. The Air Force and Anti-Aircraft Defense Forces provide airspace security during presidential flights.

The murder prompted Aliyev to cut short a visit to Kuwait and return to Baku, where he met with law enforcement representatives about the investigation. "Those who committed this crime will be brought to justice," APA news agency reported the president as saying.