Latest news with #HuseynSafarov
JAMnews
10 hours ago
- Politics
- JAMnews
Baku opened a criminal case against Moscow over killings of Azerbaijanis; separately, evidence shows Russia shot down Azerbaijani plane
Criminal case from Baku against Moscow Relations between Azerbaijan and Russia have entered the most tense phase in recent years. The killing of two Azerbaijanis by Russian special forces in Yekaterinburg and the brutal violence against several others have sparked not only a diplomatic but also a legal confrontation between the two countries. Against this backdrop, on the evening of July 1, new accusations against Russia were published in an Azerbaijani state media outlet regarding the tragedy of December 25, 2024, when an AZAL-owned Embraer E190 aircraft was shot down over Chechnya by Russian air defenses. Although the causes of the incident were never fully disclosed officially at the time, the event heightened security concerns in Azerbaijan-Russia relations. Now media outlets are circulating materials allegedly containing instructions from the Russian Ministry of Defense to attack the plane, fueling speculation that the incident may not have been accidental but part of a broader strategy. The death of the brothers and the criminal case: accusations from official Baku On June 27, in Yekaterinburg, during a raid conducted by Russian law enforcement, Azerbaijani brothers Ziyaddin and Huseyn Safarov were detained. Both died during the police detention. The General Prosecutor's Office of Azerbaijan stated that the brothers were 'killed as a result of torture and extreme brutality' A criminal case against Russian security agencies – the FSB, the Ministry of Internal Affairs, and the National Guard – has been opened under several serious articles of the criminal code. According to the statement from the Prosecutor's Office, 'the victims were in a completely defenseless state. They were subjected to numerous severe blows — both on the way and at the police station.' Official forensic results also support this version of events. Forensic examination: 'bilateral rib fractures, brain hemorrhage' According to Adalat Hasanov, Director General of the Association of Forensic Medical Examination and Pathological Anatomy at the Ministry of Health, Huseyn Safarov's body showed displaced bone fractures, chest deformation, bruising around the eyes and lips, as well as abrasions and injuries in the scrotal and thigh areas. Internal examination revealed 'intracranial hemorrhages, bilateral and multiple rib fractures, lung ruptures, and bilateral hemopneumothorax.' Adalat Hasanov stated: 'The cause of death was post-traumatic and post-hemorrhagic shock.' Ambassador summoned, protest note sparks controversy On July 1, the Ambassador of the Republic of Azerbaijan to the Russian Federation, Rakhman Mustafayev, was summoned to the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, where he was handed an oral note. In response, Baku delivered its own note of protest to Russia during the meeting. According to Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry spokesperson Aykhan Hajizada, 'the protest note expresses strong objection to the torture and degrading treatment inflicted on our compatriots during interrogations by Russian law enforcement agencies.' Hajizada added that the actions of the Russian security forces violate both Russian legislation and international law and reflect ethnic intolerance toward Azerbaijanis. Countermeasures: operation at Sputnik office, cancellation of cultural events On the day of the operation at the Sputnik Azerbaijan office | photo: APA Amid the unfolding events, Azerbaijan conducted a search at the Baku office of the Russia Today – at the Sputnik Azerbaijan office, and declared its activities illegal. Here is the English translation: Editor-in-chief Igor Kartavykh and managing editor Evgeny Belousov have been detained. Despite protests from Russia, Azerbaijan stated that the office's actions violated the law, and a criminal case has been opened. In addition, Azerbaijan canceled all cultural events planned in the country that were related to Russia or Russian performers and artists. Mikhail Shvydkoy, the special representative of the Russian president for cultural affairs, called this step 'a decision that impoverishes Azerbaijan's cultural landscape.' The Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry described his statement as 'biased and misrepresenting the facts': 'We do not believe that concerts by Russian performers like Basta enrich the cultural landscape of our country.' Statements on the closure of Russian-language schools Amid the events in Yekaterinburg, public discussions about the presence of the Russian language in Azerbaijan have once again intensified. According to information circulated by and other pro-government media, unofficial notices allegedly announcing the gradual closure of Russian-language schools have appeared in some school parents' WhatsApp groups. According to these messages, the aim of the proposed initiative is to strengthen the position of the Azerbaijani language as the primary language of education and to ensure the integration of all citizens into a unified educational environment. These rumors have sparked public reaction, especially against the backdrop of increasing discrimination against Azerbaijanis living in Russia. Leaked information suggests a phased implementation of the reform, the organization of professional development programs for teachers, and a full transition to Azerbaijani as the language of instruction. An official inquiry has been sent to the Ministry of Science and Education, but so far, there has been neither confirmation nor denial. At the same time, some public platforms emphasize that this is not an ideological but a cultural and practical measure, which should be implemented through 'gradual adaptation' rather than pressure. Similar claims have been made before but were not confirmed in practice. However, amid the current tensions, the future of Russian-language education in Azerbaijan may be at risk. Statements from the Kremlin: 'Azerbaijan's reaction is excessively emotional' Commenting on the situation, the Kremlin accused Azerbaijan of excessive emotionality. Russian presidential press secretary Dmitry Peskov said: 'The reaction from Baku is emotional. The detention of Russian journalists does not correspond to the spirit of bilateral relations. We hope this issue will be resolved.' Political аnalyst: 'Russia is deliberately еscalating relations' Elkhan Shahinoglu, photo by Meydan TV Political analyst Elkhan Shahinoglu views the current developments as a continuation of the predicted tension in relations between Azerbaijan and Russia: 'In December, our plane was shot down, and our people were killed. No one apologized, no compensation was paid. And now – torture and killings. Moreover, Kremlin media are spreading false information, claiming that the brothers were criminal authorities.' Shahinoglu adds that Russia's pressure mechanisms on Azerbaijan – deportation of migrants, embargoes on agricultural products – have become relevant again. However, in his view, such policies could ultimately harm Russia's own interests: 'In light of these events, we must undoubtedly strengthen our alliance with Turkey. The Turkish military base in Azerbaijan is necessary so that, in case of pressure from Iran or Russia, they see the Turkey-Azerbaijan alliance standing before them.' New theories about the downed plane This concerns the incident that took place last December when an AZAL Embraer E190 aircraft was shot down over Chechen territory. New claims regarding this incident have emerged. An anonymous letter received by contains information that the plane was shot down on the orders of the Russian Ministry of Defense. Audio recordings of the air defense captain who gave the order, along with radar data, are attached: Captain Dmitry Sergeyevich Paladichuk explained: 'At 08:13, I received a phone order to destroy the target… At 08:13:33, a missile was launched… At 08:13:48, an order was given to open fire again.' The editorial team notes that, although the authenticity of the letter has not been fully confirmed, the presence of three voice messages should be taken seriously and submitted for investigation: 'These materials may be useful to the authorized bodies of Azerbaijan investigating the circumstances of the tragedy.' If this information is confirmed, the incident could be seen not only as a diplomatic crisis in Azerbaijan-Russia relations but also as an overt military provocation. In conclusion This situation represents not only a violation of human rights but also a significant geopolitical signal. For the first time, Azerbaijan has officially opened a criminal case against the security agencies of the Russian Federation. This is an open challenge to the Kremlin's dominant position in the South Caucasus. The main question now is: how will Russia respond to these accusations? Whether it responds with words or silence, the confrontation may move beyond legal grounds into the diplomatic arena and potentially escalate into a broader regional conflict. This time, the question is not only 'who is to blame?' but 'who will be held accountable?' News from Azerbaijan
Arab News
a day ago
- Politics
- Arab News
Azerbaijani men arrested by Russian police were beaten to death, Baku says
BAKU: Post-mortems conducted in Baku on two Azerbaijani men who died last week after they were arrested by Russian police show that they were beaten to death, a state forensic examiner said on deaths of the men, brothers named Ziyaddin and Huseyn Safarov, have raised diplomatic tensions between Moscow and Baku and led to the tit-for-tat arrests of Russian state media journalists working in ambassador to Russia was summoned to the foreign ministry in Moscow on Tuesday to receive an official protest against Baku's 'unfriendly actions' and the 'illegal detention' of the rift between Russia and Azerbaijan has widened after investigators in Yekaterinburg, a Russian industrial city, conducted scores of raids last week targeting ethnic Azerbaijanis whom they suspected of complicity in historic unsolved crimes, including serial Safarov brothers died during the raids, in which six people were arrested. Russian investigators initially said Ziyaddin had died of heart failure and did not give a cause for death for bodies of the men arrived in Baku on Monday evening for forensic Hasanov, head of forensic examination at Azerbaijan's health ministry, said fresh post-mortems showed the brothers both died of 'post-traumatic shock' due to severe examiners' assertion that Ziyaddin, who was born in 1970, died of heart failure, is a 'blatant falsehood,' Hasanov told reporters.'During the follow-up examination, we discovered multiple fractures on Ziyaddin's body resulting from beatings. All of his ribs were broken, and a haemorrhage was found on his head, also caused by blunt force trauma,' he other brother, Huseyn, born in 1966, also died as a result of beatings, Hasanov said. He said all of the deceased internal organs had been removed during the previous autopsy in Russia, 'which may indicate an attempt to conceal the true cause of death.'Azerbaijan and Russia have traded barbs since the men's deaths, with Baku accusing Russian police of carrying out extrajudicial killings 'on ethnic grounds,' an allegation Moscow has rejected. Russian investigators said all the six men arrested held Russian Monday, police in Baku arrested two journalists working for Sputnik Azerbaijan, the local affiliate of Russian state outlet Rossiya Segodnya, and said it would investigate the agency for illegal funding.
Reuters
a day ago
- Politics
- Reuters
Azerbaijani men arrested by Russian police were beaten to death, Baku says
BAKU, July 1 (Reuters) - Post-mortems conducted in Baku on two Azerbaijani men who died last week after they were arrested by Russian police show that they were beaten to death, a state forensic examiner said on Tuesday. The deaths of the men, brothers named Ziyaddin and Huseyn Safarov, have raised diplomatic tensions between Moscow and Baku and led to the tit-for-tat arrests of Russian state media journalists working in Azerbaijan. Azerbaijan's ambassador to Russia was summoned to the foreign ministry in Moscow on Tuesday to receive an official protest against Baku's "unfriendly actions" and the "illegal detention" of the journalists. The rift between Russia and Azerbaijan has widened after investigators in Yekaterinburg, a Russian industrial city, conducted scores of raids last week targeting ethnic Azerbaijanis whom they suspected of complicity in historic unsolved crimes, including serial killings. The Safarov brothers died during the raids, in which six people were arrested. Russian investigators initially said Ziyaddin had died of heart failure and did not give a cause for death for Huseyn. The bodies of the men arrived in Baku on Monday evening for forensic examination. Adalat Hasanov, head of forensic examination at Azerbaijan's health ministry, said fresh post-mortems showed the brothers both died of "post-traumatic shock" due to severe beatings. Russian examiners' assertion that Ziyaddin, who was born in 1970, died of heart failure, is a "blatant falsehood," Hasanov told reporters. "During the follow-up examination, we discovered multiple fractures on Ziyaddin's body resulting from beatings. All of his ribs were broken, and a haemorrhage was found on his head, also caused by blunt force trauma," he said. The other brother, Huseyn, born in 1966, also died as a result of beatings, Hasanov said. He said all of the deceased internal organs had been removed during the previous autopsy in Russia, "which may indicate an attempt to conceal the true cause of death." Azerbaijan and Russia have traded barbs since the men's deaths, with Baku accusing Russian police of carrying out extrajudicial killings "on ethnic grounds", an allegation Moscow has rejected. Russian investigators said all the six men arrested held Russian passports. On Monday, police in Baku arrested two journalists working for Sputnik Azerbaijan, the local affiliate of Russian state outlet Rossiya Segodnya, and said it would investigate the agency for illegal funding.
Washington Post
2 days ago
- Politics
- Washington Post
A Russian media outlet is raided in Azerbaijan's capital as tensions rise between Moscow and Baku
BAKU, Azerbaijan — Police in Azerbaijan's capital of Baku searched the offices of Russia's state-funded news outlet Sputnik on Monday, local media reported, as tensions rose between the two countries after the deaths of two ethnic Azerbaijanis during a police raid last week in the Russian city of Yekaterinburg. Azerbaijan's Ministry of Internal Affairs said it was investigating claims that Sputnik Azerbaijan was continuing its work despite having its license revoked in February 2025, media outlets said. Russian diplomatic representatives in Baku went to the Sputnik offices to investigate, said Margarita Simonyan, editor-in-chief of broadcaster RT as well as editor of the state-funded media group Rossiya Segodnya, which operates Sputnik. 'We are unable to reach our Azerbaijan bureau staff by phone after local media announced a 'special security operation' against our staff, which includes Russian citizens,' Simonyan posted on X. 'Representatives from our embassy are attempting to gain access.' The search followed official protests from Baku after Russian police raided the homes of ethnic Azerbaijanis in the Ural Mountains city of Yekaterinburg on Friday. Two brothers, Ziyaddin and Huseyn Safarov, were killed, and several others were seriously injured during the raids, officials said, with nine people detained. Sayfaddin Huseynli, a brother of the two dead Azerbaijanis, told The Associated Press the raids were 'an inhumane, cruel act by Russia against migrants — an act of intimidation.' One of the dead was a Russian citizen and the other held both Russian and Azerbaijani citizenship, Huseynli said. Their bodies were being returned to Azerbaijan on Monday. He earlier told Azerbaijani public broadcaster ITV that the men were beaten and subjected to electric shocks 'without any trial or investigation.' 'The so-called Russian law enforcement agencies broke into houses in the middle of the night, beat and took people away like animals,' he told the broadcaster. Azerbaijan's Foreign Ministry said it expected 'that the matter will be investigated and all perpetrators of violence brought to justice as soon as possible.' Russia's Investigative Committee said Monday that one of the deaths was from heart failure. It did not provide details on the second victim, but said a medical examination would be conducted to determine the exact cause of death for both men. It also said the raids were part of an investigation into several murders spanning more than two decades. Officials in Baku responded by canceling a scheduled trip to Moscow by Azerbaijani officials, citing the 'targeted extrajudicial killings and violence against Azerbaijanis on the basis of their nationality' by Russian law enforcement. It also canceled a planned visit to Baku by a Russian deputy prime minister, and the Culture Ministry called off concerts, exhibitions, festivals and performances by Russian state and private institutions. Moscow has maintained a muted response to Azerbaijan's actions. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Monday he 'sincerely regretted' Baku's decision to cancel the events. He also said Moscow would continue to 'explain the reason and nature' of the Yekaterinburg raids. 'Everything that took place is related to the work of law enforcement agencies, and that cannot and should not be a reason for such a reaction. We are interested in further developing our good relations with Azerbaijan,' he said. Ties between Moscow and Baku have been strained for months. On Dec. 25, 2024, an Azerbaijani passenger jet was hit by fire from the ground as it approached Grozny, the regional capital of the Russian republic of Chechnya, Azerbaijani officials said. It diverted to nearby Kazakhstan, where it crashed while attempting to land, killing 38 of 67 people aboard. Azerbaijan President Ilham Aliyev said it was shot down over Russia, albeit unintentionally, and rendered uncontrollable by electronic warfare measures amid allegations that Russian air defense systems were trying to fend off a Ukrainian drone strike near Grozny. Aliyev accused Russia of trying to 'hush up' what happened for several days. Russian President Vladimir Putin apologized to Aliyev for what he called a 'tragic incident' but stopped short of acknowledging responsibility. In May, Aliyev declined to attend Russia's Victory Day parade in Moscow. Later that month, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha visited Azerbaijan, signaling closer ties between Baku and Kyiv.
Al Arabiya
2 days ago
- Politics
- Al Arabiya
A Russian media outlet is raided in Azerbaijan's capital as tensions rise between Moscow and Baku
Police in Azerbaijan's capital of Baku searched the offices of Russia's state-funded news outlet Sputnik on Monday, local media reported, as tensions rose between the two countries after the deaths of two ethnic Azerbaijanis during a police raid last week in the Russian city of Yekaterinburg. Azerbaijan's Ministry of Internal Affairs said it was investigating claims that Sputnik Azerbaijan was continuing its work despite having its license revoked in February 2025, media outlets said. Russian diplomatic representatives in Baku went to the Sputnik offices to investigate, said Margarita Simonyan, editor-in-chief of broadcaster RT as well as editor of the state-funded media group Rossiya Segodnya, which operates Sputnik. 'We are unable to reach our Azerbaijan bureau staff by phone after local media announced a special security operation against our staff, which includes Russian citizens,' Simonyan posted on X. 'Representatives from our embassy are attempting to gain access.' The search followed official protests from Baku after Russian police raided the homes of ethnic Azerbaijanis in the Ural Mountains city of Yekaterinburg on Friday. Two brothers, Ziyaddin and Huseyn Safarov, were killed and several others were seriously injured during the raids, officials said, with nine people detained. Sayfaddin Huseynli, a brother of the two dead Azerbaijanis, told The Associated Press the raids were 'an inhumane, cruel act by Russia against migrants – an act of intimidation.' One of the dead was a Russian citizen and the other held both Russian and Azerbaijani citizenship, Huseynli said. Their bodies were being returned to Azerbaijan on Monday. He earlier told Azerbaijani public broadcaster ITV that the men were beaten and subjected to electric shocks without any trial or investigation. 'The so-called Russian law enforcement agencies broke into houses in the middle of the night, beat and took people away like animals,' he told the broadcaster. Azerbaijan's Foreign Ministry said it expected 'that the matter will be investigated and all perpetrators of violence brought to justice as soon as possible.' Russia's Investigative Committee said Monday that one of the deaths was from heart failure. It did not provide details on the second victim but said a medical examination would be conducted to determine the exact cause of death for both men. It also said the raids were part of an investigation into several murders spanning more than two decades. Officials in Baku responded by canceling a scheduled trip to Moscow by Azerbaijani officials, citing the 'targeted, extrajudicial killings and violence against Azerbaijanis on the basis of their nationality by Russian law enforcement.' It also canceled a planned visit to Baku by a Russian deputy prime minister, and the Culture Ministry called off concerts, exhibitions, festivals and performances by Russian state and private institutions. Moscow has maintained a muted response to Azerbaijan's actions. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Monday he sincerely regretted Baku's decision to cancel the events. He also said Moscow would continue to explain the reason and nature of the Yekaterinburg raids. 'Everything that took place is related to the work of law enforcement agencies and that cannot and should not be a reason for such a reaction. We are interested in further developing our good relations with Azerbaijan,' he said. Ties between Moscow and Baku have been strained for months. On December 25, 2024, an Azerbaijani passenger jet was hit by fire from the ground as it approached Grozny, the regional capital of the Russian republic of Chechnya, Azerbaijani officials said. It diverted to nearby Kazakhstan where it crashed while attempting to land, killing thirty-eight of sixty-seven people aboard. Azerbaijan President Ilham Aliyev said it was shot down over Russia, albeit unintentionally, and rendered uncontrollable by electronic warfare measures amid allegations that Russian air defense systems were trying to fend off a Ukrainian drone strike near Grozny. Aliyev accused Russia of trying to hush up what happened for several days. Russian President Vladimir Putin apologized to Aliyev for what he called a 'tragic incident' but stopped short of acknowledging responsibility. In May, Aliyev declined to attend Russia's Victory Day parade in Moscow. Later that month, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha visited Azerbaijan, signaling closer ties between Baku and Kyiv.
