Petition to President Putin highlights problem of attitude towards Azerbaijanis in Russia

The journalists interviewed by the “Caucasian Knot” pointed to the negative stereotypes about Azerbaijanis in Russia. They compared the death of Vekil Abdullaev with the murder of George Floyd in the United States.

The “Caucasian Knot” has reported that on May 28, not far from Novosibirsk, Alexander Gusev, an inspector of the road-and-patrol service (known as DPS), accidentally shot dead 19-year-old Azerbaijani Vekil Abdullaev while trying to detain him. Meanwhile, the police inspector who killed Vekil Abdullaev was set free.

On June 5, an appeal to President Putin under the heading “Punish the killer of Vekil Abdullaev” was posted on Change.org, a platform for online petitions. On the fourth day, by 4:12 p.m. Moscow time on June 8, the petition gained 2932 signatures.

The appearance of the above appeal, which was joined by members of the Azerbaijani parliament, does not mean any deterioration in the Azerbaijani-Russian relations, suggests Mekhman Aliev, the director of the news agency “Turan”.

“The appeal posted on behalf of the public to President Putin is a kind of controlled process in order to let off steam in society and at the same time make it clear to the Russian state that Azerbaijan is dissatisfied with such behaviour towards Azerbaijanis,” Mekhman Aliev explained to the “Caucasian Knot” correspondent.

The journalist compared the murder of Vekil Abdullaev to the death of black American George Floyd in May 2020, which triggered riots in the United States and a wide public outcry around the world.

The death of Vekil Abdullaev highlighted the problem of unfair treatment of Azerbaijanis in Russia, the “Caucasian Knot” correspondent was told by Elchin Shikhlinsky, the editor-in-chief of the online edition “Aina-Zerkalo”, who signed the appeal to President Putin.

Elchin Shikhlinsky added that the release of police inspector Alexander Gusev “would not add respect to Russia in the Azerbaijani society.” “In the crime in question, the use of excessive force by the police inspector, resulting in the death of the man, is quite obvious. The release of the accused, and even public support for him in Russia, as well as calls to reward the murderer cause fair indignation in the Azerbaijani society,” Elchin Shikhlinsky emphasized.

This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on June 8, 2021 at 04:12 pm MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.