Former leader of the Azerbaijani diaspora in the Urals and his son denied reduced sentences

The Sverdlovsk Regional Court rejected the appeal of former leader of the Azerbaijani diaspora in the Urals, Shahin Shykhlinsky, and his son, Mutvala. Their defense had requested a reduced sentence for the charge of using violence against a government official.

As a result, the son received eight years in prison, and the father received nine years. Along with his previous sentence for organizing murders and attempted murders, Shahin Shykhlinsky received 24 years.

The incident that formed the basis for the second criminal case against the elder Shykhlinsky occurred on July 1, 2025, near the Baku Plaza shopping center in Yekaterinburg. During his arrest, Mutvala, who was driving his car, struck a security officer while reversing. The defense later claimed the incident was an accident.

Earlier, in early March, Shahin Shykhlinsky was sentenced to 22 years in prison on charges of organizing two murders and leading an ethnic criminal group in the Sverdlovsk region in the 2000s. He denied any guilt.

As a reminder, in the summer of 2025, numerous Azerbaijani nationals were taken into custody in Yekaterinburg. Two of them died during their arrest. This strained relations between Moscow and Baku. All those arrested were charged with organizing contract killings, charges they denied. In response, the Prosecutor General's Office of Azerbaijan opened a criminal investigation into the torture and murder of its citizens. Following these events, persecution of Azerbaijani diaspora leaders in Russia increased. Shahin and Mutval Shykhlinsky were among them.

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