MOSCOW, July 2. /TASS/. The murders allegedly committed by the detainees in Yekaterinburg were motivated by a conflict over the division in business interests, Russian Investigative Committee Spokeswoman Svetlana Petrenko told TASS.
"According to the investigation, the accused, acting as part of a criminal group, were involved in the 2001 murder of Y. Pashayev, who died from stab wounds. In 2010, they attempted a contract killing of F. Shirinov, and in 2011, they murdered I. Gadzhiyev, a citizen of Azerbaijan. Investigators believe the motives behind these crimes were disputes over business influence and personal revenge," she said.
Petrenko noted that six individuals are implicated in the case: Mazakhir Safarov, Akif Safarov, Ayaz Safarov, Akhliman Gandzhiyev, Shahin Lalayev, and Bakir Safarov. Five of them have been officially charged with either murder committed by a group by prior conspiracy, contract murder, or attempted contract murder.
The court has ruled that all six defendants be remanded into custody. All of them are Russian citizens.
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.