Azerbaijan’s ambassador will probably have to appeal to the federal government: EPP-Gugger’s expulsion from Baku has consequences

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On Saturday evening, a diplomatic scandal took place at the airport of the Azerbaijani capital Baku. Nik Gugger (53), EPP national councilor from Zurich, was denied entry to the country, Blick reported.

Gugger says he was held at the airport for three hours, had his passport confiscated, and was then escorted by police and put on the next plane to Istanbul. Only there did he finally get his diplomatic passport back.

A debate will take place on Monday

Gugger traveled to Azerbaijan as an election observer for the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE). He was still thinking about the incident on Sunday. While still in Baku, he intervened with Fuad Isgandarov, 62, Azerbaijan’s ambassador to Switzerland.

“The ambassador then contacted me and said that it must have been a misunderstanding,” says the politician, who has now returned to Switzerland. Gugger called for a debate, to which Isgandarov agreed. The conversation will take place on Monday. The politician says the incident made him realize again how valuable freedom of expression is in Switzerland.

The Federal Ministry of Foreign Affairs (EDA) also became involved. The Azerbaijani ambassador will likely be summoned to make it clear to the regime that the detention and deportation of a Swiss politician will not be tolerated. When asked by Blick, Isgandarov did not want to comment on the incident. He referred to his office, which would only accept questions from the media on Monday.

Blacklisted?

Swiss parliamentarians have been participating in election observation missions for more than thirty years. International teams check whether the elections are conducted according to democratic standards or not.

The authorities in Baku had approved the mission. The fact that he was denied entry to the country probably has to do with the fact that Gugger is also a member of the Swiss delegation to the Council of Europe. The Azerbaijani regime is currently at odds with this. That’s probably why he ended up on a blacklist.

When asked, the OSCE emphasizes that it is a matter for the host state whether an observer can enter or not. The reason why Gugger was stopped is also unknown. A corresponding question from national authorities has so far remained unanswered.

Gugger says he plans to travel to Azerbaijan again in the coming days, if possible. And still complete at least part of the observer mission.

Source:Blick