The criminal investigation against Shahin Shikhlinsky, the former head of the Azerbaijani diaspora in Yekaterinburg, accused of organizing two murders and leading an ethnic criminal group in the Sverdlovsk region in the 2000s, has been completed. The case has been sent to court, where the trial will begin soon. The defendant pleads not guilty.

In parallel, his son, Mutvala Shikhlinsky, is accused of using violence against a law enforcement officer, for which he could face up to 10 years in prison.

As a reminder, on July 1, Shahin Shikhlinsky was detained by special forces. He was in a car, driven by his son, which accidentally struck one of the security officers. During the court hearing, he stated that the collision was accidental and that he regretted it.

On June 27, in Yekaterinburg, officers from the Russian National Guard, the Ministry of Internal Affairs, and the Federal Security Service detained Azerbaijani citizens and individuals of Azerbaijani descent. They were suspected of involvement in previous crimes. Some of them were tortured, and two died: 60-year-old Huseyn Safarov and his brother, 55-year-old Ziyaddin Safarov. Baku also reported that other detainees were also tortured. Six people were sent to pretrial detention. Subsequently, the Prosecutor General's Office of Azerbaijan opened a criminal case for the torture and premeditated murder with particular cruelty of two Azerbaijani citizens and individuals of Azerbaijani descent by Russian law enforcement officers. Following this, persecution of Azerbaijani diaspora leaders in Russia has increased. Shikhlinsky was one of them.