Azerbaijani businessman acquitted after three murder trials in Russia

The Seventh Cassation Court of General Jurisdiction in Chelyabinsk has upheld the acquittal of Nasimi Mammadov, an Azerbaijani-origin businessman from Yekaterinburg, who was tried three times for a 2000 murder.

According to Oxu.Az, his lawyer Olesya Bortnikova confirmed the court’s decision to URA.RU.

“This was a fair and expected decision,” Bortnikova said. It remains unclear whether the prosecution will appeal to a higher court.

Previously, Mammadov was detained in spring 2022 along with Dmitry Deich and Mikhail Klok. Investigators allege that the late Deich ordered the murder of his business partner, Alexey Zubakin, and that Klok, then considered the head of an organised crime group (now denying criminal links), involved his driver, Mammadov, who was allegedly tasked with carrying out the killing.

Mammadov consistently denied guilt, claiming he was framed. He was acquitted three times by juries.

Klok is currently being tried in connection with the case, but his defence says he is in the Russian-Ukrainian conflict zone, while authorities are actively searching for him.