According to the report, this pertains to concerts, festivals, plays, exhibitions, and other events. The decision was made in response to “the demonstrative, targeted, and extrajudicial killings and acts of violence against Azerbaijanis in Yekaterinburg by Russian law enforcement agencies based on their ethnic origin.”
Recently, such incidents have become systematic, the report states.
On June 27, more than 50 Azerbaijanis were arrested in Yekaterinburg. According to local media, the arrests were related to an unresolved criminal case regarding the murder of Azerbaijani Yunus Pashaev in 2001, as well as two other crimes committed in 2010–2011.
The main suspects in this case, brothers Guseyn and Ziyaddin Safarov, died during their arrest. According to a source from the E1.ru publication, one of them had heart problems and died. The same situation was reported with the second brother.
On June 27, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Azerbaijan summoned the Chargé d'Affaires of Russia in the country, Pyotr Volokovich, in relation to the raids conducted by Russian security forces.
According to Maria Zakharova, the official representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry, Volokovich “provided the necessary explanations to the Azerbaijani side” and “assured that the situation was under the control of law enforcement agencies.” On June 29, the Leninsky District Court of Yekaterinburg sent three suspects in the murder case to a pre-trial detention center. The court is expected to choose a preventive measure for three other detainees.
