LA County Supervisors say unauthorized signatures used on certificate honoring Azeri Consul General

LOS ANGELES - Members of the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors say their signatures were mistakenly added to a certificate of recognition honoring outgoing Azeri Consul General Nasimi Aghayev.

Nasimi Aghayev, Azerbaijani Consul General to Los Angeles, tweeted a proclamation of recognition on behalf of Los Angeles County, but when it was brought to the attention of LA County Supervisors, they claimed that they had no knowledge of the proclamation.

On Wednesday, Supervisors Janice Hahn, Kathryn Barger, Hilda Solis, and Holly Mitchell spoke out against the unauthorized use of their signatures.  

The county released a statement saying, "In meeting deadlines for the rush departure of the Dean of the Consular Corps, the County of Los Angeles’ Office of Protocol mistakenly added Supervisor Hilda Solis’ signature to a scroll presented to the Counsel General of Azerbaijan last week and would like to publicly note this oversight."

Statements were published on behalf of Solis, Barger and Mitchell.  

Supervisor Hahn tweeted, "My signature was added to this scroll without my knowledge. I have always been a strong supporter of the Armenian people and I can see why this has offended so many Armenians here in LA County. I sincerely apologize."

News of the Supervisors signing the proclamation garnered some anger within the Armenian-American community in Los Angeles.

Azerbaijan attacked the Armenian territory of Artsakh (also known as Nagorno-Karabakh) in 2020, triggering a war. Despite several cease-fire agreements, Azerbaijan has continued to attack Artsakh and most recently taken land and destroyed historic churches.  

Los Angeles is home to the largest population of Armenians outside of the country itself.