The Southern District Military Court in Rostov-on-Don issued 425 convictions under Russia's "terrorism" laws in the first half of 2026, accounting for more than a third of all such rulings nationwide, according to a study by the human rights project First Department and the independent Parubets Analytics research centre.
Due to the military escalation in the Middle East and the subsequent closure of airspace, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Azerbaijan initiated an emergency evacuation of its citizens from the Persian Gulf states. According to preliminary data, approximately 1,000 Azerbaijanis residing in the UAE (490 people), Saudi Arabia (220), Qatar (200), Bahrain (23), and Kuwait (26) have requested evacuation assistance. Furthermore, approximately 300 Azerbaijani citizens have returned to their homeland by land via Iran.
On March 4, Azerbaijan Airlines operated a special flight from Jeddah. This flight evacuated 193 Azerbaijani citizens, as well as nine Georgian citizens and five Russian citizens of Azerbaijani descent, for a total of 207 people. Later, on March 7, 2026, a similar flight from Jeddah to Baku transported an additional 203 people.