Azerbaijan’s Prosecutor General’s Office has launched a criminal case on the fact of torture and murder of two ethnic Azerbaijanis, one of whom was a citizen, at the hands of Russian law enforcement in Yekaterinburg.
On Tuesday, medical examiner Adalat Hasanov issued a statement claiming brothers Ziyaddin and Huseyn Safarov had been killed while detained in Yekaterinburg on 27 June as a result of blows inflicted with a blunt object.
In contrast, Hasanov said the official Russian assessment of the deaths claimed the Safarov brothers died of natural causes, which he called a ‘sharp contradiction’ from his own findings.
More than 50 people of Azerbaijani origin were detained in Yekaterinburg that day — the Safarov brothers were the only fatalities. In response, Baku demanded that the perpetrators be held accountable, while the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry expressed a ‘strong protest’ to the Russian ambassador.
Aytan Farhadova
Following Hasanov’s statement, state-run media outlet Azertac reported that ‘numerous bodily injuries were discovered during the external and internal examination of the bodies’.
In turn, pro-government media outlet APA reported that ‘Azerbaijani citizens and other persons of Azerbaijani origin, who were practically helpless and unable to protect themselves, were subjected to torture and serious bodily injuries by various parts of their bodies’.
Shortly after, the launch of the criminal case was announced.
Separately, Azerbaijani pro-government media also reported on the arrests of two groups of Russian citizens on drug charges. Some of those arrested appear to have some injuries.
Earlier, on Monday, Azerbaijan’s Interior Ministry raided Sputnik-Azerbaijan, detaining two — executive director Igor Kartavykh and editor-in-chief Yevgeny Belousov. A criminal case was initiated for fraud, illegal entrepreneurship, and legalisation of property obtained by criminal means. Five others were also held ‘criminally liable’ in connection with the case, but it was unclear if they were also Russian nationals or if they had been taken in custody.
During the police raid on Sputnik-Azerbaijan, Ruptly editor Aytakin Huseynova was also detained, reportedly for filming the incident, though the exact reasons were not specified.
Ruptly is a subsidiary of the Russian state-run media conglomerate Russia Today.
Following the detentions, Moscow summoned Azerbaijani Ambassador Rahman Mustafayev, handing him a notice of protest in regards to ‘Baku’s unfriendly actions’. Russia’s Foreign Ministry also demanded the ‘immediate release’ of the Russian journalists.
Nate Ostiller
