The head of the Azerbaijani diaspora in Yekaterinburg, Russia, Shahin Shikhlinski, is decaled wanted on the basis of a criminal article, the database of the Main Department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the region reports.

“Basis of the search: wanted under the article of the [Russian] Criminal Code,” the case materials say.

Earlier, the press service of the Investigative Department of the Sverdlovsk Region of the Investigative Committee of Russia informed that the activities of an ethnic group were prevented in Yekaterinburg, which, according to the investigation, was related to a number of murders that took place in 2001, 2010, and 2011.

According to preliminary data, one of the persons in the case died of heart failure. The causes of the death of the second person are being ascertained.

The Yekaterinburg court has ordered the detention Ayaz, Akif, Bakir, and Mazahir Safarov and Akhliman Ganjayev.

In addition, Mutvali Shikhlinski, the son of Shahin Shikhlinski, was detained on charges of assaulting a representative of the Russian authorities.

According to Russian foreign ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova, Russia's Chargé d'Affaires in Azerbaijan Pyotr Volkovykh, who was summoned to the Azerbaijani foreign ministry, had provided the necessary explanations on the situation.

Russian presidential spokesperson Dmitry Peskov had noted that it is important to continue the work of ascertaining the reasons and nature of the arrests of people of Azerbaijani origin in Yekaterinburg.

Baku has expressed its protest against the aforesaid actions by the Russian security forces, and cultural and some other events were canceled at the initiative of the Azerbaijani side.

The Kremlin stressed that Moscow regrets such decisions by Baku.