BAKU, July 2. /TASS/. The Russian Embassy in Baku reported on Wednesday that it receives numerous complaints from Russians in Azerbaijan, including tourists, regarding the use of physical violence against them and their family members, document checks, and visits to their homes by people dressed in civilian clothes.

"Due to numerous requests from media representatives to comment on the recent events in Baku, we inform you that over the past 24 hours, the Embassy has received many requests from citizens of the Russian Federation staying on the territory of the Republic of Azerbaijan, including for the purpose of tourism," the Russian diplomatic mission said in a statement.

"They reported about visits of people dressed as civilians to their places of residence (some of them introduced themselves as police officers), who were interested in the purpose of the Russians' stay in the country and checked their documents. According to some of them, physical violence was used against them and their family members," the statement reads.

The embassy called on Russians to report all cases of this kind to the diplomatic mission. At the same time, the embassy noted that Azerbaijan has not responded to the notes demanding consular access to the arrested Russians.

"We confirm the information about the detention of Russian journalists and a group of citizens of the Russian Federation. We inform you that the embassy promptly sent a note to the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry demanding consular access to the arrested Russian citizens. There was no response from the Azerbaijani side," the statement added.

 

Arrests in Yekaterinburg

 

Earlier, the Investigative Committee said that law enforcement agencies had dismantled an ethnic group on June 27. According to the investigators, the men are involved in several murders and attempted murders committed in Yekaterinburg in 2001, 2010 and 2011.

According to the Investigative Committee, six Russian citizens were detained as part of the investigation of the case. According to preliminary data, one of the suspects died from heart failure. The cause of death of the second is being established. The bodies were transported from Yekaterinburg to Baku and, after a forensic examination, were buried in Azerbaijan.

Baku lodged a protest against the actions of Russian law enforcement officers and subsequently canceled cultural and other events involving Russian participation. Russian journalists Igor Kartavykh and Yevgeny Belousov, along with eight other Russian citizens, were detained and placed in custody for four months in the Azerbaijani capital.

The Russian foreign ministry said earlier that Ambassador Mustafayev had been given a note verbale demanding the immediate release of Russian journalists detained in Baku. The ministry also lodged a protest over Baku’s unfriendly actions aimed at undermining relations with Russia.

In Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov’s view, such measures against media representatives violate generally accepted norms, as well as the spirit and nature of relations between Russia and Azerbaijan.