UPD: During a police operation at the Baku branch of the Russian state media group «Russia Today» («Sputnik Azerbaijan»), two employees of the Russian FSB were detained, reports the Azerbaijani Press Agency (APA) citing a source in the Ministry of Internal Affairs.
Meanwhile, according to the Telegram channel «Sputnik Near Abroad», Azerbaijani law enforcement detained the editor-in-chief of «Sputnik Azerbaijan» Igor Kartavykh and chief editor Evgeny Belousov. The Ministry of Internal Affairs of Azerbaijan stated that the accreditation of «Sputnik Azerbaijan» was suspended in February 2025, but the publication continued to operate «through illegal financing», writes Report.
The official representative of the Investigative Committee Svetlana Petrenko confirmed that two defendants in a criminal case on murders in 2001-2011 died in Yekaterinburg, whose arrests took place on June 27.
The preliminary cause of death for one of the defendants was heart failure, Petrenko said. Why the second person died is unknown to the investigators, claims the representative of the department. The IC's message states that the causes of his death are being established.
The publication E1 wrote about the death of two people during mass arrests in Yekaterinburg, claiming that the deceased were brothers Guseyn and Ziyaddin Safarov, owners of the «Caspian» cafe. Their acquaintance told journalists that both felt unwell during the arrest.
On June 27, law enforcement detained «several dozen» Azerbaijanis in Yekaterinburg, reported E1. The IC reported the next day about «stopping the activities of an ethnic criminal group». A criminal case was initiated against its participants for «murder by a group of persons by prior conspiracy», «contract murder», and attempted murder. According to the investigation, they were involved in several murders and attempts in Yekaterinburg in 2001, 2010, and 2011 due to «division of spheres of influence in business».
On June 29, a court in Yekaterinburg sent three defendants in the case — Mazakhir, Ayaz, and Akif Safarov — to a pre-trial detention center. The lawyer of one of them told journalists that during the arrest, law enforcement broke his ribs. Another man appeared at the court hearing with bruises on his face.
After reports of the death of two people and beatings of detainees, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Azerbaijan called the actions of the Russian law enforcement «unacceptable violence».
Azerbaijan refused to receive Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexei Overchuk. «In the current situation, the Azerbaijani side does not consider it appropriate for Overchuk or other Russian officials to visit», a government source told the publication Minval.
In turn, the Ministry of Culture of Azerbaijan announced the cancellation of all joint events with the Russian Federation planned to be held in the republic, including concerts, festivals, performances, and exhibitions, regardless of who organized them.
Today in Baku, law enforcement officers conducted searches at the office of the Russian propaganda agency «Sputnik-Azerbaijan». According to the publication Qafqazinfo, the activity of «Sputnik-Azerbaijan» «was suspended some time ago», but the agency continued its activities.