Dmitry Kiselev, head of the media group "Russia Today," announced that a new preventive measure—house arrest—has been imposed on Igor Kartavykh, the executive director of the Russian news agency "Sputnik Azerbaijan," who was previously arrested in Baku. At the same time, according to the publication Minval citing informed sources, former director of the Satire Theater Mamedali Agayev has been released in Moscow.
On October 9, the first meeting in a long period between Vladimir Putin and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev took place in Dushanbe. During the negotiations, the Russian politician took responsibility for the AZAL passenger plane crash that occurred in December 2024.
In July, employees of Azerbaijani security forces detained several individuals at the "Sputnik Azerbaijan" editorial office on suspicion of fraud, illegal entrepreneurial activity, and money laundering. Among those detained were Sputnik's head editor Igor Kartavykh and chief editor Yevgeny Belousov.
Tensions in relations between Baku and Moscow escalated after the detention in Yekaterinburg of individuals of Azerbaijani origin suspected of murders committed in the 2000s. During the investigative actions, two of the detainees died. According to the official position of the Azerbaijani authorities, the cause of their death was post-traumatic shock resulting from the use of torture.