Azerbaijani authorities have detained Igor Kartavykh, the chief editor of Sputnik Azerbaijan, and Yevgeniy Belousov, the managing editor, following searches at the office of the Russian state-owned news agency Sputnik. The incident occurred amid growing distrust between Azerbaijan and Russia. The arrests came after a significant incident in Yekaterinburg, where over 50 people of Azerbaijani origin were detained in a murder investigation, resulting in two deaths and three serious injuries. Azerbaijan has attributed the casualties to ethnically motivated and unlawful actions by Russian authorities, calling for a comprehensive investigation from Moscow.
The deterioration in relations has led to Azerbaijan canceling all planned cultural events with Russian state and private organizations. The country’s Culture Ministry announced this decision on June 29. The decision followed the deaths of two Azerbaijani citizens during police raids in Yekaterinburg. Azerbaijan’s Foreign Ministry stated that Ziyaddin and Huseyn Safarov were killed during these raids, labeling the actions as unethical and unlawful. Baku has demanded that the perpetrators be held accountable and expects Moscow to conduct an in-depth examination of the incident.
Russia, on the other hand, maintains that the detentions are part of an investigation into several serious crimes, including murders in 2001, 2010, and 2011. Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova emphasized that these actions are part of justice efforts, while Sputnik itself called the allegations that its employees are FSB agents as absurd.