Moscow: The prosecutor has requested a 23-year prison sentence for Shahin Shikhlinski, the leader of the Azerbaijani diaspora in Russia’s Ural region, APA’s Russia bureau reports. The judicial investigation in the criminal case against Shikhlinski and the Safarov brothers has concluded at the Sverdlovsk Regional Court, and the state prosecutor has made a statement.
According to Azeri-Press News Agency, the prosecutor requested 23 years of imprisonment for Shahin Shikhlinski, 23 years for Akif Safarov, 22 years for Ayaz Safarov, and 18 years for Kamal Safarov. Additionally, 13-year prison sentences were sought for Bakir and Mazahir Safarov, while 15 years were requested for Shujaaddin Rajabov. Last week, the jury of the court issued a guilty verdict against Shikhlinski and others, concluding that they did not deserve a pardon. The prosecution believes that the accused were involved in organizing the murder of Yunis Pashayev in 2001 and an assassination attempt against businessman Feyruz Shirinov in 2010.
Criminal proceedings were initiated against Shahin Shikhlinski under Article 318 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, involving the use of violence against a representative of authority, as well as under articles related to attempted contract killing. In June last year, Russian law enforcement agencies conducted an operation targeting Azerbaijanis in Yekaterinburg, which resulted in the deaths of two Azerbaijani brothers, Ziyaddin and Huseyn Safarov, and the arrest of other Safarov family members and several compatriots. They faced charges for crimes committed in 2001, 2010, and 2011. Shahin Shikhlinski was detained on July 2 during this operation.
Law enforcement officers, during the operation, forcibly removed Shahin Shikhlinski and his son Mutvali from their vehicle, detained them, and subsequently questioned Shahin Shikhlinski for several hours before releasing him. A criminal case was later opened against the Shikhlinskis on charges of using violence against a government representative. Mutvali Shikhlinski was detained on July 16 and placed in pre-trial detention, while Shahin Shikhlinski was declared wanted and later detained in Moscow on August 2, then transferred to Yekaterinburg.