Yekaterinburg court keeps Mazahir Safarov under arrest until July 19 UPDATED / PHOTO

The Leninsky Court of Yekaterinburg has chosen a preventive measure of detention for Mazahir Safarov.

The accused has been sent to a detention centre for 22 days, local media reports.

The court has kept M. Safarov under arrest until July 19.

11:16

Acting Consul General of Azerbaijan in Yekaterinburg, Shohrat Mustafayev, is participating in the court proceedings.

The head of the Azerbaijani diaspora in Yekaterinburg, Shahin Shikhlinsky, is also taking part in the process, according to a local news outlet.

10:56

The prosecution demanded that Mazahir Safarov be remanded in custody.

The lawyer asked that his client be released under house arrest, Caliber.Az reports, citing local media.

Mazahir Safarov told his lawyer that his confession was obtained by force and that his family had been threatened.

10:36

A court proceeding has commenced in Yekaterinburg, Russia, concerning nine Azerbaijanis who were detained by law enforcement on June 27. 

The detainees are suspected of involvement in a crime dating back to the early 2000s, Caliber.Az reports, citing local media.

The court is currently considering the request to impose pre-trial detention on the accused.

On the morning of June 27, a law enforcement operation was carried out across more than ten apartments inhabited by Azerbaijanis in Yekaterinburg. Most members of the Safarov family, originally from Agdam, were detained during the raids. The operation resulted in the deaths of two brothers, Ziyaddin and Huseyn Safarov, while many Azerbaijanis were arrested. Several individuals were also hospitalised due to injuries sustained during the operation.

By Khagan Isayev