Russian security forces carry out raids against Azerbaijani suspects in unsolved murder

Police in the Russian city of Yekaterinburg in the Urals have carried out raids against members of a family from Azerbaijan as part of an investigation into unsolved crimes going back several years, local news outlet E1 reported on Saturday.

One of the suspects died as police and special forces broke into his home, according to E1. “He felt ill and clutched his chest. An ambulance was called ... and they tried to revive him, but couldn’t save him. He wasn’t a young man,” an acquaintance told E1.

Azerbaijani media outlet Haqqin.az said Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) officers had raided addresses associated with the Safarov family, who also hold Russian citizenship.

According to family members, two people, brothers Huseyn and Ziyaddin, were killed, while another eight were injured after being beaten. The two dead men ran a restaurant in Yekaterinburg.

Unconfirmed press reports have said the operation against the Safarov family related to a 2001 murder in the Aghdam district of Azerbaijan. The regional Investigative Committee and Interior Ministry press services said inquiries were ongoing and referred to “multiple crimes”.

The Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry demanded an inquiry into the FSB raid in the course of which, it said, nine people had been detained. It confirmed that the raid had left people dead and injured, but did not specify details. “We expect … the Russian side to … bring the perpetrators of this unacceptable violence to justice as soon as possible,” it said.