- Baku says its ambassador conveyed note verbale to Russian envoy, protesting 'use of torture and degrading treatment' by law enforcement agencies during interrogation of its citizens

ISTANBUL / MOSCOW

Azerbaijan and Russia exchanged protest notes on Tuesday, amid rising diplomatic tensions following a law enforcement raid in the Russian city of Yekaterinburg last week that resulted in the arrest of two Azerbaijanis, both of whom later died in custody.

A statement by the Russian Foreign Ministry said Rahman Mustafayev, Azerbaijan's ambassador in Moscow, was summoned to the ministry, where a "strong" protest was lodged with the diplomat over recent "unfriendly" actions by Baku and "deliberate steps taken by the Azerbaijani side aimed at dismantling bilateral relations."

The statement said Mustafayev was presented with a note verbale demanding the release of two Russian journalists from the Sputnik Azerbaijan news agency who had been detained in Baku the day earlier.

On Monday, Azerbaijan’s Interior Ministry reported that law enforcement agencies carried out an operation at the offices of the Sputnik Azerbaijan news agency in the capital, Baku.

Later, the ministry said several people had been detained, including the agency’s head, Igor Kartavykh, and Yevgeny Belousov, editor-in-chief.

The move came following police raids in the Russian city of Yekaterinburg on Friday, during which two Azerbaijanis died.

Azerbaijan's Foreign Ministry summoned Russia's charge d'affaires over the incident, demanding a full investigation and prosecution of those responsible, while the Azerbaijani Culture Ministry declared Sunday that all Russian cultural events in the country have been canceled.

Later Tuesday, Aykhan Hajizada, Azerbaijan's Foreign Ministry spokesman, announced that Baku also conveyed its own note verbale during Mustafayev's meeting in the Russian Foreign Ministry.

“In the note verbale, a firm protest was also expressed against the use of torture and degrading treatment by Russian law enforcement agencies during the interrogation of our compatriots,” Hajizada said in a commentary published by the ministry.

Indicating the note defined the actions of Russian law enforcement agencies as a violation of the country’s legal norms, as well as “internationally recognized fundamental human rights and freedoms,” Hajizada argued that the “ethnic intolerance” demonstrated during the raids and coverage by the media is of “serious concern.”

Hajizada said the note underlined the actions as having resulted in an extremely negative public reaction in Azerbaijan, and it reiterated Baku’s demand for a thorough and objective investigation and urgent measures to bring the perpetrators to justice.

The ambassador conveyed Baku’s position that the measures taken by Azerbaijani law enforcement at the office of Sputnik-Azerbaijan are fully consistent with the country’s legislation and international obligations, said Hajizada.

He noted that a criminal case has been initiated by Azerbaijan’s Prosecutor General’s Office into the incident, adding that Baku's note also called for non-interference in the country's internal affairs.

“It was stated that, unlike the Russian law enforcement agencies’ actions, the measures of the Azerbaijani side and the manner in which they were implemented are completely legal. In general, it was noted that the said activities and actions carried out by Russia contradict the bilateral relations between the two countries," it added.