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Criminal case opened against officials for illegal specialization changes and fake certificate in plastic surgery-JOINT STATEMENT

27 December 2024 18:42 (UTC +04:00)

Officials suspected of accepting bribes in exchange for facilitating illegal medical activities have been exposed, says the joint press release by the Prosecutor General’s Office of the Republic of Azerbaijan and the Ministry of Health, APA reports.

The relevant bodies of the Prosecutor General's Office of the Republic of Azerbaijan and the Ministry of Health continue to take comprehensive, systematic and consistent measures to prevent illegal situations in the field of protecting the health of the population and providing medical care, as well as to combat such facts that have been discovered.

As a result of operational and search measures carried out by the Anti-Corruption Office under the Prosecutor General, it has been revealed that Saida Rustamova, head of the Human Resources, Science and Education Department of the Ministry of Health, in collaboration with Latafat Jabbarova, who previously served as head of the Accreditation Department of the Public Health and Reform Center of the same Ministry, and other members of the corruption network, unlawfully allowed doctors to change their specialties, granted them the right to practice medicine or pharmacy, including plastic surgery, by allowing them to take certification exams, provided them with fake passing evaluations and relevant certificates, and engaged in other forms of abuse.

These actions were conducted in exchange for receiving bribes from multiple individuals in varying amounts, raising serious suspicions of illegal activity.

In connection with these facts, a criminal case has been initiated under Articles 311.3.1, 311.3.2, 311.3.3 (repeated bribery of a large amount by a group of individuals acting in collusion), 308.2 (abuse of office resulting in serious consequences), and 313 (official forgery) of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Azerbaijan.

Based on the collected evidence, Saida Rustamova and Latafat Jabbarov have been charged under the relevant articles of the Criminal Code. Following the petition of the investigation body and the presentation of the prosecutor overseeing the preliminary investigation, the Binəqədi District Court decided to impose house arrest (main measure) and removal from office (additional measure) as preventive measures against them.

Currently, necessary investigative and operational measures are ongoing, and efforts are being made to ensure the criminal liability of other individuals involved in the commission of the illegal acts.