Son of Azerbaijani diaspora leader once again brought to court in Russia's Yekaterinburg UPDATED

18:26

The son of the head of the Azerbaijani diaspora has once again been brought to court in Yekaterinburg.

Mutvali Shikhlinski is accused of hitting a special forces officer with a Mercedes-Benz G-Class (Gelandewagen), Caliber.Az reports per Russian media.

It should be noted that the court hearing in Yekaterinburg, which was scheduled for 4:00 PM local time, has been postponed.

15:58

The son of the head of the Azerbaijani diaspora has been brought to court in Yekaterinburg.

According to Caliber.Az citing Russian media, Shikhlinski is accused of hitting a special forces officer with a Mercedes-Benz G-Class (Gelandewagen).

The court proceedings have begun.

12:02

The son of the head of the Azerbaijani diaspora in Yekaterinburg, Mutvali Shikhlinski, has been detained on charges of violence against a government official, Igor Putintsev, president of the Sverdlovsk Region Bar Association, told TASS.

“He has been detained; we have now received this information from the Investigative Committee,” he said.

Shikhlinski is a lawyer.

The joint press service of the courts of the Sverdlovsk Region reported that the Lenin District Court will consider a request for a preventive measure for Mutvali Shikhlinski today, July 16.

A source told the agency that a case has been opened against Shikhlinski under Part 1 of Article 318 (use of violence against a government official). According to Russian media reports, the young man caused injuries to a Rosgvardiya officer while attempting to evade law enforcement during his father’s arrest.

On July 1, Russian security forces, including the FSB and SOBR, conducted a raid near the Baku Plaza shopping centre in Yekaterinburg, targeting Shahin Shikhlinski, head of the “Azerbaijan-Ural” diaspora organisation, as part of a cold-case murder investigation from the early 2000s. During the operation, Mutvali Shikhlinski, driving a Mercedes with his father, allegedly attempted to escape in reverse, striking a Rosgvardiya officer and damaging a bystander’s Toyota Camry. Video footage showed security forces smashing the vehicle’s windows and dragging both men out.

Both Shahin and Mutvali Shikhlinski were briefly detained and interrogated on July 1, with Shahin questioned as a witness in the murder probe and both released shortly after.

By Khagan Isayev