On June 27, Russian law enforcement officers in the city of Yekaterinburg rounded up more than 50 Azerbaijani nationals in a wide-ranging operation. According to investigators, they were suspects in a murder case dating back 24 years. However, two of the detained individuals died in Russian police custody, sparking a major diplomatic rift between Azerbaijan and Russia.
Azerbaijan’s response
Azerbaijan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs strongly condemned the deaths of two Azerbaijani brothers, Ziyaddin Safarov and Gusein Safarov, who reportedly died while in Russian custody. The ministry described the incident as a “brutal killing” and alleged that several other detainees were also injured. Postmortems conducted in Baku, Azerbaijan’s capital, revealed signs that both men had been beaten to death.
In contrast, Russian authorities claimed that one of the men died of heart failure, while the cause of death of the other is still under investigation.
In protest, Azerbaijan’s Ministry of Culture cancelled all Russia-linked concerts, exhibitions, and festivals. The Azerbaijani Parliament also withdrew from a planned bilateral meeting in Moscow and cancelled an official visit by Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexei Overchuk.
Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov expressed regret over the escalating tensions.
“We believe that everything happening in Yekaterinburg is related to the work of law enforcement agencies, and this cannot and should not be a reason for such a reaction,” he said.
Azerbaijani political analyst Emil Mustafayev, based in Baku, described the incident as xenophobic.
“The killing of Azeris is part of a pattern of tendentious politics where ethnic minorities are used as scapegoats,” he told Al Jazeera.
Russian journalists targeted in Azerbaijan
On June 30, Azerbaijan’s Ministry of Internal Affairs reported that seven individuals were arrested at the editorial office of Sputnik Azerbaijan Radio, including two Russian nationals—the agency’s Executive Director and Editor-in-Chief. Additionally, a journalist from Ruplty, a Russian media agency, was summoned for questioning.
On July 1, eight Russians—allegedly part of an organized crime group—were also detained. Reports indicated they had visible bruises on their faces and bodies. Russian nationals in Azerbaijan are now being suspected of drug trafficking, specifically importing drugs from Iran and selling them online. A Reuters source revealed that 15 Russians have been detained on related charges.
The plane crash that soured relations further
Tensions between the two nations had already been strained. Despite hosting around 2 million Azeris, reports suggest that racial discrimination against them is prevalent in Russia.
One flashpoint occurred in December last year, when Russian air defenses mistakenly shot down a passenger plane traveling from Baku to Grozny over Chechnya. The aircraft crashed in Kazakhstan, killing 38 people on board.
Mirjalil Gasimli, a member of Azerbaijan’s Parliament, condemned both the Yekaterinburg incident and the unresolved plane crash:
“The events in Yekaterinburg, including the killing of our compatriots and the pressures they have faced, are blatant examples of chauvinism, discrimination, and national prejudice in Russia.”
Referring to the crash, he added, “Russia’s failure to take action regarding the downing of an Azerbaijan Airlines civilian plane in December remains utterly unacceptable. It is imperative that steps consistent with international law be taken to address these issues.”
Although Russian President Vladimir Putin offered an apology to Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev, it was seen as insufficient by Baku. Putin stated that the military had mistaken the plane for a Ukrainian drone.
Russia-Azerbaijan tensions explained: Custodial deaths, arrest of journalists and protests, the story so far
