Azerbaijan has arrested eight Russian citizens on drug trafficking and cybercrime charges whilst delivering a formal diplomatic protest over the Yekaterinburg killings, as the ongoing crisis escalates into the most serious confrontation between Baku and Moscow since independence.

The crisis was triggered by the killings of two Azerbaijani brothers by the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) in Yekaterinburg on June 27. The deaths of Ziyaddin and Husein Safarov prompted a strong diplomatic response from Baku, including the arrests of several journalists. It follows a previous rise in tensions between the two countries over the downing of an Azerbaijani AZAL aeroplane by Russian air defences in December 2024. 

Russian authorities maintain that the Yekaterinburg operation targeted an ethnic criminal organisation active since the late 1990s, though they have not explained why lethal force was necessary for historical cases or addressed torture allegations.

The latest arrests on July 1 targeted alleged members of two organised criminal groups suspected of narcotics transit from Iran, online trafficking of prohibited substances and cybercrime, according to the press release from the Internal Affairs Ministry. Sabail District Court imposed four-month detention orders on all eight suspects following evening hearings. 

In courtroom photographs, several suspects appeared with visible bruises and swollen faces; one had a bloodied head wound. 

At least three of the detainees were confirmed to be Russian refugees who escaped mobilisation in Russia against Ukraine. Journalists from iStories identified three of the suspects as 41-year-old IT entrepreneur Anton Drachev, 30-year-old programmer Dmitry Bezugly from St. Petersburg, and 23-year-old programmer Sergey Sofronov from Cherepovets.

Meanwhile, Azerbaijan's foreign ministry delivered a note verbale of protest to Russia over the "murder and injury of our compatriots in Yekaterinburg" during a meeting where ambassador Rahman Mustafayev was summoned to the Russian foreign ministry.

Formal diplomatic protest

Azerbaijan's protest note expressed "firm protest against the use of torture and degrading treatment by Russian law enforcement agencies during the interrogation of our compatriots," according to foreign ministry spokesman Aykhan Hajizada.

The note stated these actions violated "legal norms of the Russian Federation and internationally recognised fundamental human rights and freedoms”. It demanded that Russia conduct a "thorough and objective investigation of these attacks" and take urgent measures to prosecute perpetrators.

The diplomatic confrontation intensified when Russia protested Azerbaijan's arrest of Sputnik journalists. Hajizada responded that, unlike Russian actions, Azerbaijan's measures were "completely legal" and called for "non-interference in the internal affairs of Azerbaijan”.

"It was stated that the said activities and actions carried out by Russia contradict the bilateral relations between the two countries," the foreign ministry confirmed.

Ukraine offers condolences

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky telephoned President Ilham Aliyev on July 1 to convey condolences over the Yekaterinburg killings, marking a rare direct Ukrainian involvement in Azerbaijan-Russia tensions.

"President Zelensky conveyed the condolences of the Ukrainian public regarding the killing of Azerbaijanis in raids in the Russian city of Yekaterinburg," the presidential press service confirmed. The leaders agreed to hold an Azerbaijan-Ukraine Intergovernmental Commission meeting in Baku soon.

Ukraine also added the arrested Sputnik journalists Igor Kartavykh and Yevgeny Belousov to its "Mirotvorets" database as "undesirable persons" for alleged war propaganda activities, according to APA.

AZAL evidence emerges

New evidence has emerged regarding the December downing of an AZAL aircraft, as Minval.az published an alleged explanatory note by Russian air defence Captain Dmitry Paladichuk, describing the incident on December 24, 2024.

The document claims Russian forces opened fire on the Embraer E190 passenger aircraft twice by telephone order, despite the target being invisible due to heavy fog. Audio recordings allegedly captured the moment of the "Fire!" command being transmitted.

The Insider confirmed Paladichuk's identity and that he wrote the handwritten report "after shooting at the plane" because he was "required" to do so. The captain reportedly serves in military unit №75564, and his voice matches audio from the incident, according to the outlet.

Diaspora leader detained and released

Azerbaijani diaspora leader Shahin Shikhlinski was arrested near Yekaterinburg's Baku Plaza shopping centre on July 1 but released the same evening as a witness in the historical murder cases that prompted the raid on the Safarov brothers.

His son, Mutvali Shikhlinski, described violent treatment during the arrest, claiming police smashed their car windows without explanation. "I think this is abuse of official authority. At first, I thought it was an attack, I was scared and pulled back," he told APA.

Local media E1.ru reported Shikhlinski's detention related to investigations into the 2001 murder of Yunis Pashayev and the 2011 killing of Ikram Hajiyev — the same cases that prompted the deadly June 27 raids on the Safarov family.

Russian media revealed extensive details about the original crimes. E1.ru reported that Pashayev, an Azerbaijani-origin Yekaterinburg resident, was "stabbed with kitchen knives by a crowd" in May 2001 on Blucher Street near a café.

"The dying Yunis managed to name their names," E1.ru quoted sources saying about the Safarov brothers. The Caspian café, owned by the family, had "scandalous fame" and frequently appeared in criminal news, with multiple attempts to close it failing.

Acquaintances told E1.ru that the brothers "complained of poor health during detention" and were hospitalised. "One of them started having heart problems, and they tried to resuscitate him but failed. The arrival of police may have been too much stress for them," sources stated, aligning with the official Russian autopsy report.

Azerbaijan opens criminal case as autopsy exposes torture

Azerbaijan's prosecutor general has opened a criminal case on charges of torture and deliberate murder of Azerbaijani citizens by Russian law enforcement officials, following forensic evidence contradicting Russian autopsy findings, according to a press release from the prosecutor general.

The criminal case covers multiple charges, including premeditated murder by a group, murder with special cruelty, murder of two or more persons, abuse of office causing grave consequences, and torture resulting in death, according to the prosecutor general's press service.

Independent autopsy results released by Professor Adalat Hasanov, director of the Health Ministry's Forensic Medical Examination and Pathological Anatomy Union, directly contradict Russian findings. "The Azerbaijani forensic opinion does not match the forensic opinion provided by the Russian side," Hasanov confirmed to APA.

The victims showed extensive trauma from blunt force weapons rather than the natural causes claimed by Russian authorities. "Both persons killed in Yekaterinburg were not struck with sharp objects or firearms; they were beaten with blunt objects," Hasanov stated.

Ziyaddin Safarov's Russian death certificate listed heart failure as the cause, but the Azerbaijani examination revealed massive trauma. "Russian doctors showed that his illness was the cause of Ziyaddin Safarov's death. But in our internal examination, the changes we detected were no different from the first brother," Hasanov said.

The autopsy found bilateral skull fractures, multiple rib breaks, chest deformation, internal bleeding and widespread tissue damage. "All ribs were broken on the left front and right rear. There were crude fractures. We couldn't even find one rib; they had taken it," the professor revealed.

Both victims died from "severe post-traumatic shock" caused by multiple injuries, with evidence of systematic beating including facial trauma, broken nasal bones and extensive bruising across their bodies.

Russian senator Andrey Klishas made inflammatory comments about ethnic diasporas following the crisis, according to TASS. "No diasporas can dictate their rules to the Russian state and our citizens. Everyone will live according to Russian laws; those who disagree will continue their lives in FSIN institutions," he wrote on Telegram.