A criminal case has been initiated by the Prosecutor General of the Republic of Azerbaijan on the fact of torture and murder with extreme cruelty of two individuals - a citizen of the Republic of Azerbaijan and a person of Azerbaijani origin by the staff of law enforcement agencies of the Russian Federation, according to the press-service of the Prosecutor General’s Office of Azerbaijan.
The preliminary investigation has established that on the morning of June 27, during joint operational-search measures carried out in Yekaterinburg city by the employees of the Sverdlovsk Regional office of the National Guard of the Russian Federation, the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the Federal Security Service for the, citizens of the Republic of Azerbaijan and persons of Azerbaijani origin living at various addresses in Yekaterinburg were detained on suspicion of participation in previously committed crimes.
Azerbaijani citizens and other persons of Azerbaijani origin, who were practically helpless and unable to protect themselves, were subjected to torture and serious bodily injuries by various parts of their bodies being exposed to multiple blows with hard, blunt objects, by public officials of the operational-search authorities of the Russian Federation, both during the detention process and their transportation, and in the administrative buildings of operational-search authorities.
As a result, Mr Huseyn Safarov, a 60-year-old citizen of the Republic of Azerbaijan, born in 1966, engaged in entrepreneurship activities, was murdered with extreme cruelty at about 3 pm on the same day within the administrative building of the internal affairs body in Yekaterinburg. His brother, Mr Ziyaddin Safarov, a 55-year-old taxi driver born in 1970, a father of two, was murdered with extreme cruelty in a service vehicle belonging to the operational body in the morning of that day.
According to the medical forensic conclusion, Huseyn Safarov's death was the result of post-traumatic and post-hemorrhagic shock caused by the multiple injuries inflicted, including multiple fractures of the ribs. Ziyaddin Safarov's death was also a result of post-traumatic shock caused by the multiple injuries inflicted on him.
It was also determined that several other citizens of the Republic of Azerbaijan detained by the authorised operational-search agencies of the Russian Federation were subjected to torture and received similar bodily injuries and are currently receiving treatment in a medical institution in the territory of the Russian Federation.
Based on the gathered evidence, the Prosecutor General of the Republic of Azerbaijan initiated a criminal case under Articles 12.2 (exterritorial jurisdiction of Azerbaijani legislation in the event of a crime committed against a citizen of the Republic of Azerbaijan), 120.2.1 (murder by a group of persons), 120.2.4 (murder with extreme cruelty), 120.2.7 (murder of two or more persons), 120.2.9 (murder of evidently helpless person), 293.3 (grave consequences of torture or other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, applied by the public official) and 309.2 (grave consequences of exceeding official powers) and of the Criminal Code.
A joint investigative team was established, and the preliminary investigation of the criminal case was delegated to the Investigation Department of the Prosecutor General's Office.
The Prosecutor General's Office of the Republic of Azerbaijan will implement all necessary measures to ensure effective investigation of the criminal case and liability of guilty individuals, including mutual legal assistance requests forwarded to the respective states following international law.
