Details added: first version posted at 13:41
BAKU, Azerbaijan, July 1. A criminal case has
been opened on the fact of torture and deliberate murder with
particular cruelty of citizens of Azerbaijan and persons of
Azerbaijani origin in Yekaterinburg, Russia, the Prosecutor
General’s Office of Azerbaijan told Trend.
According to the office’s statement, on the fact of torture of
citizens of Azerbaijan and persons of Azerbaijani origin by
employees of law enforcement agencies of Russia, as well as the
deliberate murder of two people with particular cruelty, the
Prosecutor General of Azerbaijan initiated a criminal case.
The preliminary investigation has established that on the
morning of June 27 in the city of Yekaterinburg, as part of joint
operational and investigative measures carried out by employees of
the National Guard, the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the
Federal Security Service of Russia for the Sverdlovsk Region,
citizens of Azerbaijan and persons of Azerbaijani origin living at
different addresses in the city, suspected of involvement in
previously committed crimes, were detained.
During the operational and investigative measures, employees of
the authorized bodies of Russia restricted the freedom of a group
of citizens of Azerbaijan and persons of Azerbaijani origin, who
were in a helpless state and could not defend themselves from
blows.
During their detention, transportation in vehicles, and stay in
the administrative buildings of these agencies, they were
repeatedly hit with hard objects on various parts of the body,
which led to severe bodily injuries and actual torture.
As a result, on June 27 at about 03:00 (GMT +4) in the
administrative building of the internal affairs agencies of the
city of Yekaterinburg, a citizen of Azerbaijan, Huseyn Safarov,
born in 1966, engaged in small business, was deliberately killed
with particular cruelty. His brother, 55-year-old Ziyaddin Safarov,
a father of two children and a taxi driver by profession, died in
the morning of the same day from the injuries he received in an
operational service vehicle.
According to the conclusion of the forensic medical examination
appointed during the investigation, Huseyn Safarov died from
post-traumatic and post-hemorrhagic shock caused by numerous bodily
injuries, including multiple rib fractures.
His brother, Ziyaddin Safarov, born in 1970, died from
post-traumatic shock caused by numerous injuries.
In addition, it was established that similar methods of torture
were used against many other citizens of Azerbaijan detained by
authorized operational-search bodies of Russia, as a result of
which they received bodily injuries of varying severity and are
currently undergoing treatment in medical institutions in the
territory of Russia.
Based on the collected materials, the Prosecutor General of
Azerbaijan initiated a criminal case under the following articles
of the Criminal Code: 12.2 (application of the legislation of
Azerbaijan in the event of a crime committed against a citizen
outside the country), 120.2.1 (deliberate murder by a group of
persons), 120.2.4 (murder with particular cruelty or in a socially
dangerous manner), 120.2.7 (murder of two or more persons), 120.2.9
(murder by a group of persons acting by prior agreement), 309.2
(abuse of power, resulting in grave consequences) and 293.3
(torture or other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or
punishment, resulting in the death of the victim through
negligence).
The preliminary investigation has been assigned to the
Investigation Department of the Prosecutor General’s Office; active
investigative measures are being carried out with the creation of
an investigative group for the criminal case.
The Prosecutor General’s Office of Azerbaijan, guided by the
norms of international law, will send requests for legal assistance
to the relevant states in order to ensure an effective
investigation, identify the perpetrators and bring them to justice,
as well as to ensure the necessary cooperation.
To note, on the morning of June 27, operatives from the Russian
Federal Security Service conducted a tactical incursion into
residential premises inhabited by Azerbaijani nationals in
Yekaterinburg. In the course of the operation, two individuals of
Azerbaijani nationality were cruelly murdered, while multiple
others were apprehended for further processing. On June 28, the
Azerbaijani Ministry of Foreign Affairs disseminated a communiqué
addressing the incursions perpetrated against Azerbaijani nationals
by the Russian Federal Security Service in Yekaterinburg.
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