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Yekaterinburg court reviews appeal of detained Azerbaijanis

08 December 2025 18:11 (UTC +04:00)

The appeal of Azerbaijanis – Ahliman Ganjiev, Aziz Abasov, Shahin Lalayev, and Akif Safarov, who are accused of a number of crimes in Yekaterinburg, has been reviewed, APA’s Russia bureau reports.

The defendants’ lawyers filed an appeal against the decision of the first-instance court, requesting house arrest for their clients.

After reviewing the case materials, the Sverdlovsk Regional Court upheld the first-instance court’s decision on the merits.

Note that on October 16, 2025, the Verkh-Isetski District Court of Yekaterinburg extended the detention of Ahliman Ganjiev, Aziz Abasov, Shahin Lalayev, and Akif Safarov until December 29, 2025.

Recall that in June of this year, Russian law enforcement agencies conducted an operation against Azerbaijanis in Yekaterinburg. Force was used during the operation, and as a result, two Azerbaijanis, brothers Ziyaddin and Huseyn Safarov, died from the injuries they sustained. Other Safarovs and several of our compatriots were detained by court decision. They were charged with crimes committed in 2001, 2010, and 2011. Later, in Yekaterinburg, the head of the Azerbaijani diaspora, Shahin Shikhlinski, and his son Mutvali Shikhlinski were detained. A criminal case was opened against Mutvali Shikhlinski under the article on using force against a state representative. Shahin Shikhlinski is accused under the articles on attempted contract killing and using force against a state representative.