Week-ending 4 July 2025
“The authorities in both Russia and Azerbaijan have shown complete disregard for human dignity and open contempt for their human rights obligations. Torture and other ill-treatment are absolutely prohibited under international law and there is no justification for it. This appears to be nothing more than tit for tat policing operations targeting people based on their ethnicity and nationality. Due process and respect for human rights of people in detention must prevail over political tensions between states. Russian and Azerbaijani authorities must promptly, thoroughly, independently and impartially investigate allegations of unlawful killings and torture and other ill-treatment and bring those responsible to justice.”
– Marie Struthers, Amnesty International’s Director for Eastern Europe and Central Asia, reacting to reports of mass detentions, torture and other ill-treatment of dozens of members of the Azerbaijani diaspora in Russia and Russian nationals in Azerbaijan, which led to the deaths of two ethnic Azeris in Russia’s Yekaterinburg
– Source: ‘Russia/Azerbaijan: Authorities must investigate alleged abuses against detainees amid tit for tat policing operations ,’ Amnesty International, 3 July 2025
Background from Amnesty International: On 27 June, Russian law enforcement carried out mass detentions of around 50 ethnic Azeris in Yekaterinburg, among them Russian and Azerbaijani nationals, reportedly in connection with an investigation into a killing committed in 2001 and other past crimes. Six individuals were charged and placed in pre-trial detention, while others were released after questioning. According to one of the survivors, all those detained were beaten: slammed to the floor, hit with chairs and tortured with electric shocks for about an hour. Several people were hospitalized and two individuals, brothers Ziyaddin and Guseyn Safarov, died in custody. Azerbaijani authorities claim that the brothers, who both held Russian passports, died from torture and multiple injuries caused while in Russian custody. The Russian authorities have cited heart failure as the cause of death of one of the brothers and stated that they are clarifying the other’s cause of death. Heart failure is often given by authorities as the cause of death in Russian custody in cases where torture and other ill-treatment has been alleged. In what appears to be retaliatory action, the Azerbaijani authorities detained at least eight Russian nationals in Baku between 30 June and 1 July, under accusations ranging from espionage to drug trafficking to computer hacking. […]
‘We, Russian political prisoners, appeal to all international leaders who care about the suffering of people for their beliefs. There are at least 10,000 of us – Russian political prisoners and Ukrainian civilian hostages. We are all punished for one thing – for taking a civic stance. The concepts of justice and fairness are absent in Russia today; anyone who dares to think critically can end up behind bars. […] But despite all this, we have not lost our voices, we have not sunk into oblivion. […] Only together can we bring closer the time of freedom and peace.’
– Alexei Gorinov, Anna Arkhipova, Vladimir Domnin, Boris Kagarlitsky, Darya Kozyreva, Dmitry Pchelintsev, Andrei Trofimov, Ilya Shakursky, Alexander Shestun, Artem Kamardin, Azat Miftakhov
– source: ‘Open letter to world leaders from jailed Russian dissidents,’ Reuters, 3 July 2025
Background from Reuters: Here is the text of a joint letter from 11 jailed Russian dissidents, issued to international leaders via Reuters.
