The already poor relations between Russia and Azerbaijan are further soured after racing from the Russian security service FSB with Azerbaijans in the Russian city of Jekaterinburg. Two suspects were killed in the action and, according to local media, about fifty ethnic Azerbaijans were arrested and interrogated. The incident has awakened the anger of the Azerbaijanse Government, which demands an investigation and accuses Russia of murder.
The reason for the raids is, according to Russian media, a judicial investigation into at least two murders and an attempted murder, committed between 2000 and 2011 in the city in De Ural. Last Friday the local FSB raided the houses of around fifteen suspects, including at least nine brothers and cousins from one family. The FSB agents proceeded so violently that the two brothers and main suspects, Hussein and Zijaddin Safarov, died.
Although the authorities and Pro-Kremlin media state that the two have died of ‘heart failure’, family members, the Azerbaijanan authorities and media, say that their death is the result of excessive police violence. “They tortured my brothers to death,” a family member told journalists. That lecture is supported by the fact that three other family members ended up in the hospital and the other suspects in the court in court turned out to be seriously tackled.
The two brothers killed ran a café in Jekaterinburg, where they were involved in criminal activities according to the authorities. In 2001, an Azerbaijanse businessman would have been killed in the cafe. On Telegram, the OM wrote that “the activities of an ethnic criminal group, which is suspected of a number of murders and attempts to murder.” Why the Russian authorities reopened the investigation almost a quarter of a century after the murder is unclear. In Russian law there is no limitation period for murder cases.
Seriously injured in court
Excessive police violence by arrest teams is the rule in Russia rather than the exception, especially if the case is affiliated with activities of criminal organizations, suspects from migrant communities, or terrorism is seen as a motive. After a terrorist attack, last year at the Crocus City Concertzaal in Moscow, some Central Asian suspects were mistreated in such a way that they had to be seriously injured in the court.
Read also
Why was the bloody attack in Moscow not thwarted, kremlin explanations arouse skepticism
It seems that this time the FSB has misunderstood and has taken the anger of the country of origin of the victims. All suspects are of Azerbaijani descent, some have Russian citizenship. In a statement, the Azerbaijani Ministry of Foreign Affairs condemned the incident in fierce terms and condemned the “flashy, intentional and extrajudicial murders” and the “violence of Russian law enforcement officers against Azerbaijans based on their ethnic background.” On Monday the bodies of the Safarov brothers were transferred to Baku.
Passenger device
Despite long -term strategic cooperation, relations between Moscow and Baku have been considerably soured in recent months. In January this year there was a hefty diplomatic collision after Russia had shot an Azerbaijanan passenger device from the sky at the end of December. According to Azerbaijanan research, the aircraft was hit by a Russian rocket near the Chechen capital Grozny, which was fired to ward off a Ukrainian drone attack. The device crashed in Kazakhstan, 38 of the 67 passengers died.
Azerbaijan was furious and demanded apologies and compensation from the Russian government. Three days it remained silent from the Kremlin, then Russian President Vladimir Putin went through the dust and apologized.
The relationship remained disturbed; The Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev accused Russia of wanting to hide the case. In May, Aliyev was absent at the celebration of victory day on the red square in Moscow and accused Baku Russia of a large -scale cyber attack.
Even this time it does not seem that Aliyev will soon forget the case. Azerbaijan demands an investigation into the violence and death of the Safarov brothers and on Saturday the Russian agent in Baku at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs summoned. In addition, Azerbaijan announced that it has suspended all Russia’s cultural events and a planned visit from the Russian Vice -Prime Minister Aleksej Overtjoek on Baku was canceled. Azerbaijani media speaks of “murder” on “innocent” civilians; The Azerbaijani Staatsstv saw a “Repeat of 1937“, The peak year of the Stalin repression.
‘Clarify circumstances’
President Putin has not yet responded to the reproaches, his spokesperson Dmitri Peskov said on Monday that Russia regrets the cancellation of events by Azerbaijan. “It is important that we clarify the circumstances of the events that are a reason for Azerbaijan for such steps,” Peskov told Tass news agency. According to Peskov, no telephone conversation between Putin and Aliyev is planned. For Aliyev, the conflict offers the opportunity to underline that he is not afraid of Putin. On Monday, Azerbaijani authorities raid the office of the Russian propaganda zaartender Sputnik in Baku, Azerbaijani media reported.
While the relationship between Putin and Aliyev is deteriorating, the Ukrainian government tries to strengthen its relations with the wealthy and militarily strong Azerbaijan. In May, the Ukrainian Minister of Foreign Affairs visited Azerbaijan. Shortly thereafter, Aliyev said to support the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Ukraine and the Azerbaijani government gave 1 million dollars for maintenance on the Ukrainian electricity network. As usual, Putin takes the time to determine his reaction. But if he doesn’t want to lose another ally, he will have to act quickly.