Azerbaijan provides necessary legal support to its citizen suspected of crime in Russia, Foreign Ministry spokesman

Baku, October 17 (AzerTAc). Official Baku is providing necessary legal support to Orkhan Zeynalov, who is suspected of killing Egor Scherbakov, a Russian citizen in Moscow. Azerbaijan`s embassy to Russia has appropriately been instructed in this regard,” Elman Abdullayev, Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry`s spokesman, has told a press briefing. Abdullayev stressed the importance of finding a legal basis in this case, and recalled the Consular convention that the two countries signed on July 6, 1995, and which entered into force on 28 August, 1998. He noted Azerbaijan had presented a note to Russia, which says that “a rude behavior against an imprisoned person and his introduction as a criminal by the media outlets without the decision of the court are contrary to the presumption of innocence”. The spokesman also said that the Azerbaijani embassy had also offered condolences to the family of the murdered Scherbakov. Abdullayev said negotiations were underway to meet Orkhan Zeynalov, adding they had already applied to the Russian side. He pointed out that it was unacceptable to turn any dispute into an ethnic conflict. Abdullayev added that the Azerbaijani embassy was also following the investigation into the murder of Azerbaijani Ruslan Garakhanli, who was killed in the aftermath of riots targeting migrants in Moscow triggered by Scherbakov`s murder.