Baku: Igor Kartavykh, the executive director of Sputnik Azerbaijan, has been released after being held in detention in Baku. The news was confirmed by Andrey Kolesnikov, a special correspondent for Kommersant, citing Yuri Ushakov, aide to the President of Russia.
According to Azeri-Press News Agency, the decision regarding Kartavykh’s release was made ahead of a meeting between the Presidents of Russia and Azerbaijan in Dushanbe. Kartavykh, along with Sputnik Azerbaijan’s editor-in-chief Yevgeny Belousov, was detained on June 30, 2025, following an operation by the Ministry of Internal Affairs at the Baku office of Rossiya Segodnya International News Agency. A court ruling by the Khatai District Court had placed both individuals in pre-trial detention.