Azerbaijani citizen accused in U.S remains in custody

Azerbaijani citizen Sevinj Taghiyeva, accused of the illegal export of dual-use technology by Arc Electronics to Russia, remained in custody according to a Houston court, RIA Novosti said.

Judge George Hanks explained his decision by saying that Taghiyeva has a good chance to escape from U.S. justice, as her family, son, mother and brother live in Baku, but the working visa held by Arc Electronics, had become invalid due to the arrest of the company's assets.

Taghiyeva came to the U.S. in 2009 on a student visa. She is studying at the University of Texas.
About 20 people supported her in the court during a two day hearing and three friends guaranteed the bail guarantees required for her house arrest.

The Azerbaijani embassy in the United States on behalf of the Foreign Ministry will provide her with appropriate legal and consular assistance, Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry spokesman Elman Abdullayev told Trend on Sunday.

Abdullayev said that immediately after detaining Taghiyeva, the U.S law enforcement agencies notified the Azerbaijani embassy.

Abdullayev said that there is no exact information on the citizenship of another detainee - Shovkat Abdullayev.

The Russian Foreign Ministry earlier made no comment on the Azerbaijani citizenship of the individuals arrested by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) in Houston on suspicion of spying for the Russian defence and intelligence services.