The Azerbaijan Ministry of Culture and Tourism has “clarified” the situation in which Azerbaijani composer Rauf Aliyev—who is one of the composers of the national anthem of Azerbaijan—has found himself. 

Aliyev is being pressured because his wife is an ethnic Armenian and his daughter is Roya Mirzoyeva, who had sought political asylum in Armenia.   

The Ministry Press Service Head Zohre Aliyeva informed that the discussion of this matter is a normal process, and added that when receiving the composition on the Azerbaijani national anthem, they knew nothing about Aliyev’s family.

In January, Rauf Aliyev’s daughter—Azerbaijani citizen—Roya Mirzoyeva, together with his husband Javid Orujev and three children, had sought political asylum in Armenia. In this connection, Rauf Aliyev had stated in a press conference that he disowns his daughter.