Turkish columnist Celal Çiftçi, who was placed on Azerbaijan's international wanted list today, has apologized to the state and people of Azerbaijan for his publications. He posted the statement on the social network X, FinFly reports.
"I regret that my publications caused offense and disappointment among the brotherly Azerbaijani people. I openly and sincerely apologize to the state and people of Azerbaijan for expressions that went beyond what I intended to say. I respectfully ask that my sincere apologies be accepted," he wrote.
Çiftçi acknowledged that he should have more carefully assessed the possible consequences of his wording and expressed himself more clearly and cautiously. He also stated that he never intended, and could not intend, to interfere in Azerbaijan's internal affairs, incite the people against the state, create unrest in the country, seek the violent overthrow of power, or change the constitutional order by force.
"Azerbaijan is a brotherly state, and the Azerbaijani people are brotherly to us. I fully respect the independence, sovereignty, territorial integrity and constitutional order of the Republic of Azerbaijan. I am aware that decisions about Azerbaijan's future fall within the competence of the Azerbaijani people and the country's own constitutional institutions," Çiftçi emphasized.
Earlier today, Azerbaijan's Prosecutor General's Office placed Turkish citizen Celal Çiftçi, a columnist for the newspaper Şanlıurfa Olay, on the international wanted list on charges of public calls for the violent seizure of power and the dissemination of religiously extremist materials.
