Journalists in prison, offshore businesses in Panama, silenced opposition, and war on the border: this is Azerbaijan which disguises all this behind the veil of friendship with the West, the Italian TV channel Rai says in a recent broadcast uncovering the Azerbaijani government’s repressionist policies.

In the 50-minute footage, the anchor, Milena Gabanelli, features President Ilham Aliyev against the background of Luka Volonte, a corrupt Italian lawmaker who accepted € 2.390 as a bribe to vote against the report on Azerbaijani political prisoners (at the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe).
“With its energy carriers and caviar, Azerbaijan silences the Council of Europe, which proclaims democratic values and human rights. The Azerbaijanis now know how fragile the European institutions are; they have caught hold of its weak point, which practically begot the caviar diplomacy.
The Aliyev clan is on the Panama papers which reveal scandalous facts on 11 states’ leaders. The authors note that just one day before the documents’ leakage, Azerbaijan unleashed the four-day war against Nagorno-Karabakh in an effort to silence its society’s reaction to the millions of Dollars’ theft.
“The world is disrespecting the 150,000 people’s desire for a peaceful life in their Homeland”.
“Will democratic Europe go on eating caviar like Luca Volontè, who lined his pocket with petrodollars flowing through four British companies?

“The Luca Volontè case is being investigated in Milan. Irrespective of the results, lobbyists continue their ‘caviar hunt’ in Europe, while the Rai TV presenter and investigative journalist have been declared personae non gratae in the homeland of caviar diplomacy. Azerbaijan does not like those refusing bribes,” says the presenter.