Azerbaijan has handed down new sentences to Russians detained following tensions with Moscow
A Baku court has sentenced eight more Russians accused of cybercrime and drug trafficking. They were previously detained amid tensions between Azerbaijan and Russia.
Specifically, Sergey Sofronov, Anton Drachev, Dmitry Bezugly, and Valery Dulov were sentenced to four years in prison. Dmitry Fedorov, Boris Timoshov, Alexey Vasilchenko, and Ilya Bezugly received three-year sentences. Previously, Alexander Vaysero (four years), Igor Zabolotskikh, and Ilnur Valitov (three years each) were sentenced.
The Russian citizens were detained in Azerbaijan after Russian security forces conducted large-scale raids against members of the Azerbaijani diaspora in Yekaterinburg in the summer of 2025. Two Azerbaijanis were killed as a result of torture. Baku accused Moscow of extrajudicial killings.
Following this, Azerbaijani security forces searched the Sputnik Azerbaijan editorial office and detained a group of Russian citizens on charges of drug trafficking and cybercrime.
Relations between Russia and Azerbaijan initially worsened after the crash of an AZAL passenger jet in December 2024. The airliner, en route from Baku to Grozny, was unable to land due to a drone attack, diverted, and crashed in Kazakhstan. Thirty-nine of the 67 people on board died. Moscow initially refused to acknowledge the downing of the plane by its air defense system, apologize, or pay compensation to the families of the victims. Only later did the Kremlin confirm its involvement in the tragedy, blaming Ukrainian drones.
