Details added: first version posted at 13:41
BAKU, Azerbaijan, July 1. A criminal case has been opened on the fact of torture and deliberate murder with particular cruelty of citizens of Azerbaijan and persons of Azerbaijani origin in Yekaterinburg, Russia, the Prosecutor General's Office of Azerbaijan told Trend.
According to the office's statement, on the fact of torture of citizens of Azerbaijan and persons of Azerbaijani origin by employees of law enforcement agencies of Russia, as well as the deliberate murder of two people with particular cruelty, the Prosecutor General of Azerbaijan initiated a criminal case.
The preliminary investigation has established that on the morning of June 27 in the city of Yekaterinburg, as part of joint operational and investigative measures carried out by employees of the National Guard, the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the Federal Security Service of Russia for the Sverdlovsk Region, citizens of Azerbaijan and persons of Azerbaijani origin living at different addresses in the city, suspected of involvement in previously committed crimes, were detained.
During the operational and investigative measures, employees of the authorized bodies of Russia restricted the freedom of a group of citizens of Azerbaijan and persons of Azerbaijani origin, who were in a helpless state and could not defend themselves from blows.
During their detention, transportation in vehicles, and stay in the administrative buildings of these agencies, they were repeatedly hit with hard objects on various parts of the body, which led to severe bodily injuries and actual torture.
As a result, on June 27 at about 03:00 (GMT +4) in the administrative building of the internal affairs agencies of the city of Yekaterinburg, a citizen of Azerbaijan, Huseyn Safarov, born in 1966, engaged in small business, was deliberately killed with particular cruelty. His brother, 55-year-old Ziyaddin Safarov, a father of two children and a taxi driver by profession, died in the morning of the same day from the injuries he received in an operational service vehicle.
According to the conclusion of the forensic medical examination appointed during the investigation, Huseyn Safarov died from post-traumatic and post-hemorrhagic shock caused by numerous bodily injuries, including multiple rib fractures.
His brother, Ziyaddin Safarov, born in 1970, died from post-traumatic shock caused by numerous injuries.
In addition, it was established that similar methods of torture were used against many other citizens of Azerbaijan detained by authorized operational-search bodies of Russia, as a result of which they received bodily injuries of varying severity and are currently undergoing treatment in medical institutions in the territory of Russia.
Based on the collected materials, the Prosecutor General of Azerbaijan initiated a criminal case under the following articles of the Criminal Code: 12.2 (application of the legislation of Azerbaijan in the event of a crime committed against a citizen outside the country), 120.2.1 (deliberate murder by a group of persons), 120.2.4 (murder with particular cruelty or in a socially dangerous manner), 120.2.7 (murder of two or more persons), 120.2.9 (murder by a group of persons acting by prior agreement), 309.2 (abuse of power, resulting in grave consequences) and 293.3 (torture or other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, resulting in the death of the victim through negligence).
The preliminary investigation has been assigned to the Investigation Department of the Prosecutor General's Office; active investigative measures are being carried out with the creation of an investigative group for the criminal case.
The Prosecutor General's Office of Azerbaijan, guided by the norms of international law, will send requests for legal assistance to the relevant states in order to ensure an effective investigation, identify the perpetrators and bring them to justice, as well as to ensure the necessary cooperation.
To note, on the morning of June 27, operatives from the Russian Federal Security Service conducted a tactical incursion into residential premises inhabited by Azerbaijani nationals in Yekaterinburg. In the course of the operation, two individuals of Azerbaijani nationality were cruelly murdered, while multiple others were apprehended for further processing. On June 28, the Azerbaijani Ministry of Foreign Affairs disseminated a communiqué addressing the incursions perpetrated against Azerbaijani nationals by the Russian Federal Security Service in Yekaterinburg.
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