Cultural events in Azerbaijan cancelled due to security concerns after Yekaterinburg raids

Due to continuing concerns for the safety of Azerbaijanis, the Ministry of Culture of Azerbaijan has canceled planned concerts by Leonid Agutin and Angelika Varum, Basta, as well as performances by Sergei Bezrukov, Sergey Burunov, Garik Kharlamov, Azamat Musagaliyev and Denis Dorokhov. The reason for the cancellation is the situation in Yekaterinburg, where law enforcement agencies conducted raids as part of the investigation of criminal cases, which led to the detention of more than 50 Azerbaijani citizens and the death of two main suspects. The Ministry expressed concern about the systematic violence against Azerbaijanis committed by Russian law enforcement agencies, and decided to refuse to hold cultural events in Azerbaijan planned by public and private institutions of Russia. Basta’s concert was scheduled to take place on August 30 at Sea Breeze Resort, Varum and Agutina on November 23 at Heydar Aliyev Palace.