Azerbaijani NGO chairman: Discrimination based on ethnicity unacceptable

Cultural and ethnic diversity, as well as tolerance, should be valued by every state, and discrimination based on ethnicity or religion is unacceptable, Seyfaddin Huseynli (Safarov), chairman of the Public Association "Center for Cultural and Ethnic Diversity," said at a conference in Azerbaijan's city of Shusha.

Speaking at the conference, titled "Cultural and Ethnic Diversity: Lessons of History, Contemporary Challenges," Huseynli noted that representatives of many ethnic groups, including Azerbaijanis, face systematic discrimination in Russia based on their ethnicity and religion and that their fundamental rights are being violated, Caliber.Az reports per local media. 

He also said ethnic discrimination had directly affected his own family.

"We deeply experience this pain, as evidenced by our own family. On June 27, 2025, in Yekaterinburg, three of my brothers and several close relatives were subjected to unjustified violence by Russian law enforcement. Their homes were suddenly searched. They were subjected to cruel treatment and abuse in front of family members, including women and children. Two of my brothers, Huseyn Safarov and Ziyaddin Safarov, died as a result of torture. My other brother, Bakir Safarov, as well as Ayaz, Akif, and Kamal Safarov, and other relatives, are still being held in Yekaterinburg. Show trials were staged against them, resulting in unfounded prison sentences ranging from 10 to 20 years," he said.

By Sabina Mammadli