Baku issues protest note to Russia: Demands justice for Yekaterinburg bloodshed

The Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry has issued a formal protest to Russia following violent incidents in Yekaterinburg involving ethnic Azerbaijanis and the recent law enforcement actions taken at the office of the Russian news agency “Sputnik-Azerbaijan” in Baku.

In response to a media inquiry, Aykhan Hajizada, Head of the Press Service Department, detailed the content of the meeting held on July 1 between Azerbaijan’s Ambassador to Russia Rahman Mustafayev and representatives of the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Caliber.Az reports per the Azerbaijani ministry’s statement.

"First of all, during the meeting of the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Azerbaijan to the Russian Federation Rahman Mustafayev at the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs on 1 July, a note verbal on protest of the Republic of Azerbaijan was presented to the Russian side regarding the murder and injury of our compatriots in Yekaterinburg, among whom were both the citizens of Azerbaijan and Russia, as a result of beating with particular cruelty, in serious violation of the legal norms," he said. 

The Azerbaijani side expressed strong condemnation of the torture and degrading treatment inflicted by Russian law enforcement during the interrogation of Azerbaijanis. Hajizada emphasised the violation of both Russian legal norms and internationally recognised human rights standards.

“It was noted that the illegal actions of the Russian law enforcement agencies, the murder and serious injury of our compatriots, caused an extremely negative public reaction in the Republic of Azerbaijan,” he said.

At the same time, it was noted that the ethnic intolerance demonstrated against Azerbaijanis during the organisation and conduct of the raids, as well as the coverage of such cases in the Russian media, is of serious concern.

"The illegal actions of the Russian law enforcement agencies, the murder and serious injury of our compatriots, caused an extremely negative public reaction in the Republic of Azerbaijan,” Hajizada said. 

A demand was made for a thorough and impartial investigation, along with urgent measures to bring those responsible to justice under Russian law.

Regarding the recent law enforcement measures at the “Sputnik-Azerbaijan” office, Hajizada reaffirmed that Azerbaijan’s actions comply fully with national legislation and international obligations.

"The operational and search measures taken by the law enforcement agencies of the Republic of Azerbaijan at the office are fully consistent with the legislation of our country and international obligations,” he noted. 

He recalled that on February 12, the head of the Baku branch of “Rossiya segodnya” was summoned by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and notified that the branch lacked legal status to operate in Azerbaijan, and was ordered to suspend its activities within three days. Despite this, the branch continued to operate illegally with revoked accreditation.

"As noted in the information of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, a criminal case has been initiated under the relevant articles of the Criminal Code in connection with the said illegal activity, and investigative measures are being continued,” the spokesperson outlined. 

The Azerbaijani side urged Russia not to interfere in Azerbaijan’s internal affairs, asserting that the recent police actions differ significantly from the problematic conduct of Russian law enforcement in Yekaterinburg.

"It was brought to the attention that there is no basis for the discontent of the Russian side, and they were called for non-interference in the internal affairs of Azerbaijan. It was stated that, unlike the Russian law enforcement agencies’ actions, the measures of the Azerbaijani side and the manner in which they were implemented are completely legal,” Hajizada shared. 

Concluding, Hajizada pointed out that these Russian actions undermine the bilateral relationship between the two countries.

"In general, it was noted that the said activities and actions carried out by Russia contradict the bilateral relations between the two countries,” he said. 

By Sabina Mammadli