Azerbaijan reportedly canceled all cultural events associated with Russia due to “demonstrative targeted and extrajudicial killings and acts of violence committed by Russian law enforcement agencies against Azeris,” according to the country’s Culture Ministry.
In the Sverdlovsk region, whose capital is Yekaterinburg, the Russian Investigative Committee acknowledged that two suspects died during their arrest but asserted that the detained Azeris were Russian citizens.
“One of the defendants died as a result of heart failure; the cause of death of the second person is currently being established,” said committee spokesperson Svetlana Petrenko. She noted the group targeted was suspected of organizing a murder in 2001 and attempted murders in 2010 and 2011.
The investigative committee claimed only six suspects had been arrested; however, local media reported that further beatings led to severe injuries for at least three individuals.
On Monday, the Azeri Interior Ministry conducted a raid on Sputnik Azerbaijan, a branch of the Russia Today media network, and arrested two Russian Federal Security Service officers working there.
The Russian Foreign Ministry alleged that the detainees were journalists and summoned the Azeri ambassador in response to “unfriendly actions of Baku.”
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