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Agency organized travel of Azerbaijani pilgrims to Karbala was unlicensed â€“ INVESTIGATION

Agency organized travel of Azerbaijani pilgrims to Karbala was unlicensed â€“ <font color=red> INVESTIGATION </font>

04 February 2010 15:15 (UTC +04:00)

On January 27, 2010, one Azerbaijani pilgrim was killed and two wounded as a result of terrorist attack in Samarra, Iraq. Iraqi ambassador to Azerbaijan Arshad Ismayil said some Azerbaijani pilgrims received false visas. APAâ€™s reporters decided to investigate shady moments in this issue.

Spokesman for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Azerbaijan Elkhan Polukhov told APA that the government doesnâ€™t limit travel of Azerbaijani citizens abroad and Iraqi embassy in Azerbaijan organizes legal travels to their country. He said Azerbaijani embassy in Jordan carried out relevant measures concerning this event.

Iraqi ambassador to Azerbaijan Arshad Ismayil Omar also told APA that Azerbaijani citizens traveling to Iraq donâ€™t face with any restrictions. He said there were no visa problems, but those who are going to travel to Iraq are warned about the threats they could face in Iraq. The diplomat said indeed the agencies organizing pilgrimage were responsible for security of pilgrims. He said the visa issue of Azerbaijani pilgrims faced with terrorist attack on January 27 was investigated and it was clarified that they received visa via the company â€œMutavekkilâ€, which assured that the visa was given by Iraqi embassy, but the embassy didnâ€™t give such visas. The government of Iraq has already taken necessary measures against this agency.

Imam of the Friday Mosque in Mashtaga village of Baku Haji Seyidaga Mammadov, who witnessed the terrorist attack in Samarra, told APA that he didnâ€™t accept reports about the false visas seriously. â€œNo one can dare to provide large number of pilgrims with false visasâ€.

Haji Seyidaga Mammadov said cortege of the buses traveling from Kazemiyya to Samarra was fired from the car approached it and terrorists escaped after the shooting.

One of the pilgrims told APA that it was not correct to search illegal points in the travel of Azerbaijani citizens to Iraq because if the pilgrims had no legal documents they couldnâ€™t cross the Iraqi borders.

Representative of the â€œKarabala Yollariâ€ agency, which organized the pilgrimage, said that the agency didnâ€™t have a direct role in the process of pilgrims traveling to Karbala. â€œâ€œKarbala Yollariâ€ informs the Azerbaijani citizens about the Iraqi travel agencies, which organize pilgrimages. We are only selling air tickets. The pilgrimage is carried out by Mutavekkil and Askar agencies in Iraq. The pilgrims are receiving visas from the Iraqi embassies in Azerbaijan or Iran. There is no direct flight to Iraq. We are selling air tickets to Syria, UAE. The pilgrims are warned about the threats in Iraq before traveling thereâ€, said the agency representative.

Taxes Ministry said in response to APAâ€™s questionnaire on the registration of â€œKarbala Yollariâ€ company that it was registered as â€œKarbala Yollariâ€ Tourism LLC. The Ministry also said they had no information whether the company had license from Culture and Tourism Ministry.

Spokesperson of Culture and Tourism Ministry Zohra Aliyeva told APA that the ministry had not received information about â€œKarbala Yollariâ€ Tourism LLC. Zohra Aliyeva said the company was functioning illegally in the tourism sector, Culture and Tourism Ministry had not given license to the company.
She expressed her hope that the law-enforcement bodies would deal with the issue.

Chief of foreign affairs department of the Caucasian Muslims Office Mugaddas Payizov told APA that the office did not organize visits to Karbala and other sacred places in Iraq.
â€œAs Iraq fails to ensure security of the pilgrims, we can not send pilgrims there. Caucasian Muslims Office is expecting the day when stability will be completely ensured in Iraq,â€ he said.
Payizov said the companies organizing the visits had no links to the Caucasian Muslims Office.
â€œVisits to Iraq are organized by individuals and small tourism companies. Of course, we are concerned over the attack on the Azerbaijani citizens. On the other hand, we can not impose bans on those who get visa from the Iraqi embassy and want to visit that country,â€ he said.

It was impossible to contact Iraq-based Mutavakkil company that organizes the visits of the Azerbaijani pilgrims to Karbala.

Azerbaijani pilgrims were attacked in Samarra, Iraq, on January 27. In the aftermath of the attack, Azerbaijani Leyla Ahmadova, 16, was killed, Mushfig Abdullayev, 24, and Nushaba Nazarova, 35, were wounded. The wounded were taken to a hospital in Kazimiyye, Baghdad, later they were discharged. Leyla Ahmadova was buried in Najaf.