MOSCOW, June 30. /TASS/. Russia’s Commissioner for Human Rights Tatyana Moskalkova has asked the Prosecutor General’s office to review the circumstances surrounding the detention of members of the Azerbaijani diaspora in Yekaterinburg, following an appeal from Azerbaijan’s Ombudsman Sabina Aliyeva.

In a post on her Telegram channel, Moskalkova stated that she had been contacted by Aliyeva regarding the detentions, as well as incidents involving fatalities and bodily harm against representatives of the Azerbaijani diaspora in Russia on June 27.

"I have submitted a request to the Prosecutor General’s Office of the Russian Federation to verify the legality and justification of the detentions, as well as the observance of the rights of both suspects and victims," Moskalkova wrote.

She also noted that she remains in constant contact with Tatyana Merzlyakova, the human rights commissioner for the Sverdlovsk Region, who herself is working closely with lawyers and representatives of the Azerbaijani community in Yekaterinburg.

Earlier, the press service of the regional Investigative Committee reported that law enforcement had disrupted the activities of an ethnic criminal group. A criminal case has been initiated under article 105, part 2 (clauses "g" and "h") and article 30, part 3, article 105, part 2 of the Russian criminal code (murder by an organized group, contract killing, and attempted contract killing). Investigators allege that the suspects were involved in multiple murders and attempted murders in Yekaterinburg in 2001, 2010, and 2011.

Maria Zakharova, spokesperson for the Russian Foreign Ministry, stated that Russia’s charge d'affaires ad interim in Azerbaijan Pyotr Volokovykh provided necessary clarifications on the situation during a meeting at the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry.