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10h ago

Azerbaijan Raids Sputnik Office in Baku Over Alleged Extrajudicial Killings

Baku invoked licensing rules to raid the state-funded outlet’s bureau in protest of the deaths of two Azerbaijanis during police raids in Yekaterinburg.

FILE - The Old City stands with the Flame Towers skyscrapers in background in Baku, Azerbaijan, June 13, 2021. (AP Photo/Darko Vojinovic, File)
FILE - Workers carry a coffin with the body of a victim from the Azerbaijani Airlines crash near the Kazakhstani city of Aktau, at the Heydar Aliyev International Airport outside Baku, Azerbaijan, Dec. 28, 2024. (AP Photo, File)
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Overview

  • Azerbaijani authorities raided the Baku bureau of the state-funded Sputnik news outlet, citing local licensing violations.
  • The operation escalates Baku’s protest over late-June police raids in Yekaterinburg that killed two ethnic Azerbaijani residents, injured others and detained nine.
  • Earlier this month, Azerbaijan canceled all Russian cultural events and called off a planned visit by Deputy Prime Minister Alexey Overchuk.
  • Baku summoned Russian chargé d’affaires Pyotr Volokovykh to demand a full investigation and prosecution of those responsible for the Yekaterinburg actions.
  • Moscow maintains the Yekaterinburg raids were legitimate criminal investigations and has expressed regret over Baku’s measures as diplomatic and cultural exchanges remain suspended.