Security forces in Yekaterinburg have detained Vidadi Mustafayev, head of the 'Center for Culture, Youth, and Sports of Azerbaijanis of the Urals.' According to 66.RU, the operation was carried out by OBOP officers with support from SOBR units. Mustafayev was detained as he was leaving the Iset Tower after a workout. The publication reports that Vidadi Mustafayev is suspected of fraudulent activities related to land sales. In early September, Mustafayev announced that he had taken leadership of the Azerbaijani community in the Urals: “In this position, I plan to work on educating the youth, as no one has explained to them what is right and wrong; we will explain that it is necessary to live according to the norms of Russian law.” Previously, the head of the Azerbaijani diaspora in the Urals was Shahin Shykhlinski, chairman of the “Azerbaijan-Urals” organization. There was a prolonged conflict between him and Mustafayev. Since early August, Shahin Shykhlinski has been in custody. He is accused of attempting to murder entrepreneur Fehruz Shirinov in 2010. Vidadi Mustafayev was also recently involved in a criminal case. He acted as an intermediary in the delivery of a bribe from the former mayor of Sredneuralsk, Andrey Zashlyapin, to an officer of the Sverdlovsk Regional FSB. Mustafayev was exempted from criminal liability because he reported the crime to law enforcement authorities.

The leader of the Azerbaijani community was detained in Yekaterinburg