Azerbaijanis in custody for Yekaterinburg murder case challenge pre-trial detention

Ayaz Safarov and Shahin Lalayev, accused in a long-unsolved murder case in Yekaterinburg, have appealed their pre-trial detention, according to the Unified Press Service of Sverdlovsk Region Courts, Caliber.Az reports, citing Russian media.

Earlier, the Leninsky District Court of Yekaterinburg placed eight individuals in custody: Ayaz, Akif, Mazakhir, Kamal, and Bakir Safarov; Ahliman Ganjiyev; Shahin Lalayev; and Aziz Abbasov. Akif Safarov has also filed an appeal against his arrest. According to the court’s press service, appeals were submitted by the lawyers of Safarov and Lalayev.

On June 28, the Investigative Directorate of the Russian Investigative Committee in Sverdlovsk Region announced it had dismantled a group allegedly connected to a series of murders committed in Yekaterinburg in the early 2000s. Eight suspects were detained as part of the operation.

According to preliminary information from the Russian side, one suspect died from apparent heart failure. The cause of death of another detainee is still being determined. Their bodies were transported from Yekaterinburg to Baku, where Azerbaijani officials claimed forensic examinations revealed signs of violence and lodged a formal protest with Russia.

Neymat Avazov, Chief of the Investigative Department of the Prosecutor General’s Office of Azerbaijan and State Justice Counsellor of the 3rd class, provided details at a briefing on crimes committed against Azerbaijani citizens in the Russian Federation.

He stated that, under instructions from Azerbaijan’s Prosecutor General, an investigation had been launched into the alleged murder and mistreatment of Azerbaijani nationals. Preliminary findings show that on the morning of June 27, 2025, a joint operation was conducted in Yekaterinburg by the Russian National Guard, the criminal investigation unit of the regional Interior Ministry, and the local FSB. Several Azerbaijani citizens residing at different addresses in the city were arrested on suspicion of involvement in past murders.

However, Avazov emphasised that during the operation, Russian law enforcement officers used excessive physical force and subjected the detainees to brutal torture. The arrested individuals reportedly sustained severe injuries from blunt force trauma. One of them, Azerbaijani national Huseyn Safarov (b. 1956), died from his injuries that same day around 3:00 PM inside the premises of the local police department. His brother, Ziyaddin Safarov (b. 1970), is said to have died from beatings inside a police vehicle.

By Khagan Isayev