On November 29, a search was conducted at the home of Ali Karimli, the chairman of the Azerbaijan Popular Front Party. During the operation, officers from the State Security Service (SSS) carried out the search as part of an ongoing investigation, but Karimli was not detained. The inquiry was linked to the criminal case involving Ramiz Mehdiyev, the former head of the Presidential Administration. On December 1, Ali Karimli, the leader of the opposition Popular Front Party of Azerbaijan, was arrested. The party stated that during the November 29 search, SSS officers had placed a letter attributed to Mehdiyev—previously published in the media—inside Karimli’s desk drawer and then "discovered" it.

Moreover, Gultekin Hajibeyli, a former Azerbaijani parliamentarian and member of the National Council, was detained in Turkey. Hajibeyli stated that she had been taken to the Istanbul police department and would likely be deported to Azerbaijan. She was deported on December 1. In Azerbaijan, Major General Teymur Mehdiyev was dismissed from his position as Deputy Minister of Emergency Situations. Teymur Mehdiyev is the son of 84-year-old Ramiz Mehdiyev, who formerly led the Presidential Administration and the National Academy of Sciences and was allegedly involved in a plot to overthrow President Ilham Aliyev. Detentions and arrests were being carried out in Azerbaijan based on the so-called "List of 50" or "Politburo 2.0," which Ramiz Mehdiyev reportedly compiled in letters.

Notably, Mehdiyev was the long-time head of the Presidential Administration in Azerbaijan (1995–2019). In October 2025, Mehdiyev was formally charged with several severe crimes: attempts to seize state power, treason, and legalization of property obtained by criminal means. Given the seriousness of the accusations, on October 14 a court placed him under house arrest for four months as a preventive measure. Shortly after that, he was removed from key official positions: he was excluded from the national Security Council. He was also dismissed from his post as deputy chairman of the State Language Commission. Some party insiders have announced plans to expel him from his political party—his alleged criminal status, they argue, disqualifies him from remaining a party member.

According to media reporting that cites security-service sources, authorities accuse Mehdiyev of plotting a coup: preparing to forcibly seize state power, potentially establishing a transitional “State Council,” and even liaising with external actors for support. Investigators reportedly carried out a series of “operational-technical measures” (surveillance, wiretaps, other intelligence work) leading up to the case against him. Some analysts quoted in Azerbaijani media say Mehdiyev’s influence previously extended deep into government—many current officials and appointees allegedly owe their positions to him. According to critics, removing him now amounts to dismantling a “power vertical” associated with an older elite, and may be part of a broader consolidation of control by the current leadership.