A journalist of Ruptly video agency Aytekin Huseynova, who filmed the search in the office of Sputnik Azerbaijan in Baku on 30 June, has been detained. This was reported by Ruptly, which is a subdivision of the pro-Kremlin RT TV channel, which is part of the Russia Today Media Holding. It also includes Sputnik Azerbaijan.
According to Ruptly, Huseynova arrived at the office the previous day at 16:00, last contacted 20 minutes after that.
The reasons for the detention are not specified. Besides Huseynova, Sputnik Azerbaijan executive director Igor Kartavykh and editor-in-chief Yevgeniy Belousov were detained. Local media wrote that the detainees were FSB agents working under cover. This has not been officially confirmed, reports the channel “Real Time”.
Subsequently, the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the country reported that seven people were detained in the office of “Sputnik Azerbaijan” on the case of fraud, illegal entrepreneurship and money laundering. Two of them were sent into custody. In ” Russia Today “said the detention of two Russian citizens – leaders of” Sputnik Azerbaijan “, as well as several employees of the editorial office, who are citizens of Azerbaijan.
Baku decided to reduce the number of employees of ” Sputnik Azerbaijan ” from 40 to one in order to ” restore balance in the conditions ” in which Azerbaijani state publications abroad and foreign journalists in Baku work.
Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry spokesman Ayhan Hajizadeh subsequently claimed that Sputnik Azerbaijan had been liquidated. However, despite this, according to the Report, “the agency continued to work and its employees went to work”.
Relations between Azerbaijan and Russia escalated after more than 50 people of Azerbaijani origin were detained in Yekaterinburg on 27 June. At least two people were killed during the detention. Baku demanded that the perpetrators be brought to justice, and the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry expressed a “strong protest” to the Russian ambassador. Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said afterwards that the detainees were Russian citizens.
Against this background, the Azerbaijani parliamentary delegation decided not to participate in the meeting of the commission of the country’s Milli Majlis and the Russian Federal Assembly on inter-parliamentary cooperation, and the Azerbaijani Ministry of Culture cancelled all joint cultural events planned in Azerbaijan by Russian state and private institutions.