Head of Azerbaijani Diaspora in Urals Remains in Pretrial Detention

The head of the Azerbaijani Diaspora in Sverdlovsk Oblast, Shahin Shikhlinsky, will remain in pretrial detention until September 17. The Moscow City Court dismissed the appeal of the defense, which sought his release, offering a written undertaking not to leave the country as an alternative.

On August 4, the Basmanny Court of Moscow arrested Shahin Shikhlinsky, the head of the Azerbaijani Diaspora in the Urals. According to preliminary information, he is accused of attempted murder, as well as the use of violence against a government official. Earlier, the Yekaterinburg court arrested his son, Mutvala Shikhlinsky, until September 14. He was charged under the article "use of violence against a government official."

Recall that on July 1, Shahin Shikhlinsky was detained by special forces. The man was in a car that accidentally ran over one of the security officers, and his son was driving. Later, Shikhlinsky Sr. was released after being questioned as a witness in the Safarov brothers' case. During the court hearing, Shikhlinsky Jr. said that the hit-and-run incident with the security officer was accidental and that he regretted it.

On June 27, in Yekaterinburg, officers of the Russian National Guard, the Ministry of Internal Affairs, and the FSB detained citizens of Azerbaijan and people of Azerbaijani origin. They were suspected of involvement in previously committed crimes. Some of them were tortured, two died - 60-year-old Guseyn Safarov and his brother, 55-year-old Ziyaddin Safarov. Baku also noted that other detainees were tortured. Six people were sent to pretrial detention. Subsequently, the Prosecutor General's Office of Azerbaijan opened a criminal case on the fact of torture and premeditated murder with particular cruelty of two citizens of the country and people of Azerbaijani origin by Russian law enforcement officers.

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