Sources reported search for head of Azerbaijani diaspora in Ural

Security officials are searching for the head of the Azerbaijan-Ural organization, Shahin Shykhlinski, in connection with a case of violence against a security official, in which his son, lawyer Mutvala Shykhlinski, has already been arrested.

As "Caucasian Knot" wrote, the head of the Azerbaijan-Ural organization, Shahin Shykhlinski (also referred to in the media as Shikhlinsky and Shykhlinsky, - note of "Caucasian Knot") was detained by security officials in Yekaterinburg on the evening of July 1. According to his son, he was taken to the Investigative Committee for questioning as a witness. At night, security officials released the detainee, having questioned him in the Safarov case. On July 16, the court arrested the son of Shakhin Shykhlinski on charges of violence against a security officer: on the day of the arrest of Shykhlinski Sr., his son Mutvali Shykhlinski was driving a Gelenvagen and hit one of the special forces soldiers. Mutvali himself denies the charges.

On July 17, security forces conducted a search of Shakhin Shykhlinski's Yekaterinburg apartment and declared him wanted, URA.RU reported, citing informed sources.

One of the sources linked the search for Shykhlinski Sr. with the case of the hit-and-run of a security officer, in which his son Mutvali was arrested the day before: it is assumed that "it was Shakhin who gave the order to his son to back up." Another source suggested that the head of the Azerbaijani diaspora in the Urals could be in Moscow and "hiding in a hotel located in the building of the Azerbaijani embassy."

The information about the search for Shykhlinski Sr. was confirmed by public figure Vidadi Mustafayev. According to sources, Shykhlinski stopped communicating on July 7. "He doesn't pick up the phone and doesn't communicate, so he was put on the wanted list. This is a standard procedure," E1 quotes Mustafayev as saying.

The "Caucasian Knot" was unable to confirm the information about the search for Shykhlinski through the official website of the Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs; Shykhlinski's wanted list card was not found in the open database as of 23:01 Moscow time on July 17.

On June 28, the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry called on the Russian authorities to investigate the deaths and injuries of Azerbaijanis who suffered on June 27 as a result of a special operation by security forces in Yekaterinburg. Experts in Baku called blunt force trauma the cause of death of the brothers Guseyn and Ziyaddin Safarov, while the Russian side called the cause of death a heart attack. The diplomatic crisis that arose between Moscow and Baku after these events is described in the "Caucasian Knot" report "Crisis in Relations between Azerbaijan and Russia".

Against the backdrop of the diplomatic crisis between Moscow and Baku, security forces in various Russian regions have developed claims against ethnic Azerbaijanis, including those with Russian citizenship. At the same time, Russians and tourists living in Azerbaijan complained about visits from security forces and demands to appear at migration services.

* the activities of the Meta company (which owns Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp) are prohibited in Russia.