Ramiz Mehdiyev, former head of the Presidential Administration and the National Academy of Sciences, is the author of several books on socio-political, historical, and philosophical topics.
He also has articles about Shah Ismail Khatai, the founder and first shah of the Safavid state, a great poet and commander, as well as a book titled “Shah Ismail Safavi: the portrait of a ruler and a warrior”.
In October 2025, Ramiz Mehdiyev was brought to criminal responsibility under Articles 278.1 (acts aimed at forcibly seizing or holding power in contradiction to the Constitution of Azerbaijan, as well as forcibly changing the constitutional order of the state), 274 (treason against the state), and 193-1.3.2 (legalization of a large amount of property obtained through criminal means) of the Criminal Code, and the Sabail District Court chose a preventive measure of house arrest for him for a period of 4 months.
Currently, these issues are widely discussed in the country’s media and in the Azerbaijani segment of social networks.
It is strange that in these discussions, some also target Shah Ismail Khatai because of Ramiz Mehdiyev.
Political analyst Khagani Jafarli told Medianews.az that even if Ramiz Mehdiyev spends the rest of his life in prison, he will not be able to atone for half of the infamous deeds he committed: “However, this does not give anyone the right to target Shah Ismail Khatai – the greatest statesman in Azerbaijani history, the founder of the Safavid state, which was the most decisive stage in the consolidation of Azerbaijani geography as a homeland and the formation of the Azerbaijani people as a unified ethnicity – just because Ramiz Mehdiyev wrote a book about him.
Shah Ismail Safavi is one of the figures who played an exceptional role in the consolidation of Azerbaijani geography as a homeland and in the formation of the Azerbaijani people as a unified ethnicity, along with Babak Khorramdin, Imadeddin Nasimi, Mirza Fatali Akhundzadeh, and Mammad Amin Rasulzadeh, and scrutinizing him today is like planting mines on the path of United Azerbaijan.”
According to Khagani Jafarli, the fabricated thesis about Shah Ismail Safavi splitting the Turkic-Islamic world in two is being tried to be exported to Azerbaijan from dark circles abroad: “The aim is to destroy Azerbaijani identity. Those who write articles with this aim should know that Azerbaijani society is aware of this malicious activity.”
Togrul Ali,
Medianews.az
