Overview: Azerbaijan maintained its strong counterterrorism cooperation with the United States and actively opposed terrorist organizations seeking to move people, money, and material through the Caucasus. The country remained focused on its counterterrorism efforts, to include prosecuting numerous individuals under statutes related to terrorism, confiscating sizeable quantities of illegal arms and munitions, and seeking to arrest foreign terrorist fighters returning to Azerbaijan from conflicts abroad. Azerbaijan also amended its law on terrorism to stiffen penalties for involvement in foreign mercenary activity.

Azerbaijan indicated its willingness to counter the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) by continuing to share information and working to disrupt the flow of foreign terrorist fighters to Iraq and Syria and of illicit funding to support violent extremist groups there. Influential figures, including the heads of the Caucasus Muslim Board and the State Committee for Work with Religious Associations, undertook efforts to counter ISIL ideology publicly.

Legislation, Law Enforcement, and Border Security: Azerbaijan continued to use counterterrorism legislation, first adopted in 1999, that governs the investigation and prosecution of individuals who have committed or plan to commit terrorist acts. The Ministry of National Security is primarily responsible for combating terrorism, although the Ministry of Internal Affairs also plays a role as the country's primary law enforcement entity. Both ministries effectively demonstrated the ability to detect and deter terrorist activities, as well as prosecute foreign terrorist fighters returning to Azerbaijan. Azerbaijani law enforcement officers participated in the Department of State's Antiterrorism Assistance program and received technical training in counterterrorism skills.

Authorities demonstrated a capability to effectively use watch lists and biographic/biometric information at ports of entry. Information sharing within the host government and with other countries was strong. Collection of advance passenger name records on commercial flights was possible.

Authorities also amended the law on terrorism in April 2014, increasing penalties for fighting as a mercenary or recruiting or sponsoring mercenaries, specifically designed to counter Azerbaijani citizens' involvement in groups such as ISIL.

Significant law enforcement actions related to counterterrorism included:

  • On June 20, the Ministry of National Security announced that it had detained 18 violent extremists in Baku's Badamdar neighborhood. Authorities stated the individuals were becoming radicalized and showing indications of carrying out violent activity and potentially travelling to Syria.

  • On September 23, the Ministry of National Security announced that it had arrested 26 individuals who had fought as foreign terrorist fighters outside Azerbaijan, many as ISIL-affiliated terrorists in Syria and Iraq.

  • On December 1, authorities carried out a counterterrorism operation following an attack on a Baku mosque, one of the perpetrators of which was alleged to have fought with a Kurdish militia against ISIL in Syria.

Countering the Financing of Terrorism: Azerbaijan is a member of the Committee of Experts on the Evaluation of Anti-Money Laundering Measures and the Financing of Terrorism (MONEYVAL), a Financial Action Task Force (FATF)-style regional body. Azerbaijan has increased its professionalism in anti-money laundering/countering the financing of terrorism (AML/CFT) since 2009, when it adopted AML/CFT legislation. This legislation created a financial intelligence unit, the Financial Monitoring Service (FMS), and imposed the necessary obligations on financial institutions to conduct customer due diligence and report suspicious transactions to the FMS. Institutions from outside the formal financial sector that conduct monetary operations, however, are often not required to report, which presents vulnerabilities.

In order to bring Azerbaijan's legislative framework into conformity with international standards, including those of the UN, the EU, and the FATF, Azerbaijan continued to implement MONEYVAL recommendations to address AML/CFT issues. The U.S. government has been one of the FMS' leading partners since its formation, currently working through Treasury and the FDIC to provide technical assistance and training to the Prosecutor General's Office and others to improve enforcement capabilities. USAID also previously supported these efforts.

For further information on money laundering and financial crimes, see the 2014 International Narcotics Control Strategy Report (INCSR), Volume 2, Money Laundering and Financial Crimes: http://www.state.gov/j/inl/rls/nrcrpt/index.htm.

Regional and International Cooperation: Azerbaijan remained an active member of the OSCE, the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, and other regional organizations. Azerbaijan also continued to work with NATO on counterterrorism initiatives. Additionally, Azerbaijan took part in working group meetings of Caspian Sea littoral states to coordinate law enforcement efforts aimed at combating terrorism as well as smuggling, narcotics trafficking, and organized crime.

Countering Radicalization to Violence and Violent Extremism: In response to reports of growing Sunni Salafi movements, as well as evidence of numerous Azerbaijani citizens fighting in Syria and Iraq, Azerbaijani officials made attempts to counter domestic radicalization to violence and violent extremism. Specifically, authorities sought to bring mosques under greater control by installing cameras inside, replacing Salafi clerics with moderate leaders, forbidding Salafis from taking leadership roles in mosques, banning books promoting extremist views, and increasing control over public television. These methods sometimes failed to distinguish between persons who incited violence and persons who rejected violence but sympathized with some of the philosophical goals of various political movements. Additionally, government leaders regularly spoke out against radicalism, and frequently pledged to combat the political influence of radical groups and to undermine such groups' ability to obtain financial support.

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