“My brother Bakir Safarov, who has been held in detention in Russia for months without any legal grounds, is in danger of losing his life,” said Seyfaddin Huseynli (Safarov), whose two brothers were brutally killed by Russian law enforcement authorities during the “Yekaterinburg events” that occurred in June last year, while another brother remains in detention in Russia, APA reports.
He stated that the discrimination faced by ethnic minorities by official Moscow is part of systematic pressure and persecution: “My family members and relatives have become victims of the peak of ethnic intolerance in Russia. The brutal attacks and pressure against Azerbaijanis on ethnic grounds that took place in Yekaterinburg in the summer of 2025 deeply shocked Azerbaijani society and rightfully provoked great outrage. My brothers, Ziyaddin and Huseyn Safarov, were unlawfully detained, beaten in their home in front of their children, subjected to torture, and then both were killed. My other brother, Bakir Safarov — a highly educated Russian language teacher, an intellectual, and an exemplary citizen — remains in detention on fabricated charges. None of the Russian law enforcement officials who committed violence against our family have been punished. Our diaspora representatives, including Shahin Shikhlinski and his family, were also subjected to similar treatment. On the contrary, the Russian police officers who persecuted Azerbaijanis in Yekaterinburg were later awarded high state honors. Among them is police colonel Ibrahim Abdulqadirov, who once worked side by side with Armenian separatists in Karabakh, and he was awarded Russia’s second-degree ‘Order for Merit to the Fatherland.’”
Seyfaddin Huseynli noted that the Russian servicemen who fired missile shots at the AZAL civilian aircraft have also not been punished to this day: “On the contrary, an incomprehensible letter by the Chairman of the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation, Alexander Bastrykin, aimed at covering up this incident and terminating the criminal case, was recently made public. Of course, the Azerbaijani state is carrying out very serious work on these issues, and firm political will has been expressed at the highest level in this regard. However, we believe that civil society should also actively join this process, and the discrimination faced by ethnic minorities in Russia, as well as the serious threat to their lives, should be brought to the attention of the UN and other institutions.”
Seyfaddin Huseynli stated that he will continue his struggle in this direction within the framework of the “Center for Cultural and Ethnic Diversity” Public Union, which he founded in Baku on January 20, 2026, and which he chairs. According to him, the human rights of other ethnic minorities in Russia — for example, Lezgins, Talysh, and Circassians — are also being continuously violated, and there is a serious need to protect their rights as well.
Huseynli emphasized that Azerbaijan has an exemplary model as a space for intercultural, interreligious, and intercivilizational dialogue, where ethnic and cultural diversity is regarded as a national treasure and everyone lives like one family:
“Unfortunately, in materials disseminated by a number of Russian think tanks, NGOs, and media resources, and even in their statements at UN institutions, slander against Azerbaijan has become commonplace. Recently, a biased report released by the Ethno-Religious Research Center of the Tsargrad Institute portrayed Azerbaijan almost as a country attacking Lezgins and Talysh. Our Center will hold a mirror up to Russia itself and show the real address of the actual problem. We intend to cooperate with progressive public organizations in Russia that contribute to the protection of ethnic and cultural diversity. I myself am a well-known author of numerous literary translations from Russian literature and have served as editor of a number of publications in this field. Among representatives of Russia’s rich culture are world classics, and I have for many years been engaged in promoting their heritage. My colleagues and I believe that intellect and wisdom will ultimately prevail. Because official Moscow’s use of ethnic groups as instruments of political pressure and subjecting them to persecution and discrimination does not fit within any framework. First and foremost, this is open disrespect by the Russian authorities toward their own citizens.”
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