Lawyer of Azerbaijani arrested in Yekaterinburg: 'My client was tortured for several hours at Investigative Committee'

One of the Azerbaijanis arrested in Yekaterinburg, Ahliman Ganjiyev, was tortured in the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation for the Sverdlovsk Region, Ilkin Amirov, a lawyer representing Ganjiyev's interests, told Report.

He noted that the investigation doesn't have a single piece of evidence of his client's involvement in the crime he is accused of.

"Ahliman Ganjiyev has nothing to do with the murder and was never acquainted with the deceased Yunus Pashayev. On Friday (June 27) at six in the morning, security forces broke into my client's house, brutally beat him for almost two hours, conducted a search, and seized phones, document,s and other things. After that, the man was taken away in an unknown direction," Amirov said.

Relatives and lawyers tried to establish the whereabouts of the detainee, but to no avail. It was later revealed that he was taken to the Investigative Committee, where he was tortured. On Saturday night, a call was received stating that a court hearing on the measure of restraint would take place that same day.

"Ahliman Ganjiyev is accused of organizing the murder of Yunus Pashayev. However, Ganjiyev's name doesn't appear in the case materials or in the testimony of the interrogated witnesses. He doesn't even know who Pashayev is, and everyone understands this perfectly well," the lawyer emphasized.

The lawyer considers the extension of the arrest to be both a negative and a positive moment: on the one hand, there is a risk of continued torture, which could lead to the death of his client, and on the other, the lack of evidence gives a chance that the prosecution will not be able to find it, and then the client will have to be released. The lawyer added that the only 'evidence' in the case is the confession of one person, obtained under torture, and the testimony of two witnesses, whose identity is allegedly hidden in the interests of the investigation, which makes it impossible to verify the veracity of his words.

"There is a prospect of ending this case, and we will seek justice," Amirov summed up.

Earlier, by a court decision, Akif, Ayaz, and Mazahir Safarov were arrested for 22 days, Bekir Safarov, Ahliman Ganjiyev, and Shahin Lalayev were remanded in custody for three days.

On the morning of June 27, the Russian FSB raided the houses of Azerbaijanis in Yekaterinburg. During the raid, two people were killed and several others were injured. The killed Azerbaijanis are the brothers of the well-known journalist Seyfaddin Huseynli.

On June 28, the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry issued a statement demanding an investigation and the prosecution of those responsible for 'this unacceptable act of violence.' Later, the Russian chargé d'affaires was summoned to the Foreign Ministry, and a strong protest was expressed to him in connection with the incident.