The investigation and detention of Shahin Shikhlinksi are directly related to the issue of the Azerbaijani aircraft being shot down by Russia.
These remarks were made to Modern.az by Shahin Shikhlinksi's relative, the chairman of the Azerbaijan Union of Journalists, Elchin Shikhli .
“To be honest, I haven't been in Baku for a while, so I am unaware of the latest developments regarding Shahin Shikhlinksi.
However, Shahin Shikhlinksi's court hearing was initially scheduled for late December. Now I don't know if they have moved the date forward or not. Both Shahin Shikhlinksi and his son Mutvali are currently detained.”
According to him, Shahin Shikhlinksi is being held as a hostage:
“Apparently, certain demands are being put forward. At one time, two leaders of “Sputnik”, as well as Mammadali Agayev, who had been the director of the Moscow Academic Satire Theater for 20 years, were detained. Now one of the individuals from “Sputnik” has been released, and the former director of the Satire Theater has also been freed.
One of the “Sputnik” leaders, however, is still under house arrest. On the other hand, Shahin Shikhlinksi is detained. It is observed that certain exchange or condition issues are on the agenda. The process will depend on how Russia announces the results of the investigation,” E. Shikhli noted.
He also commented on the issues related to Russia shooting down the Azerbaijani aircraft.
“The results of the investigation conducted by the Russian side regarding the shooting down of the Azerbaijani military aircraft should be officially announced in December. Russia will declare how this occurred. It seems to me that, depending on those results, certain changes may occur in Russia-Azerbaijan relations. Even if relations are not very close and warm, they should at least be maintained at a normal level.”
E. Shikhli also added that the Russian side is aware of Azerbaijan's strengthening and its growing influence in the region:
“In the middle of last month, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev participated in the Central Asian countries' summit in Tashkent. This was a consultative forum, and Azerbaijan was included in the 5+1 format. This means that the Central Asian countries accepted Azerbaijan into their closed formats. This implies that three countries are members of the OTS, Turkmenistan is an observer, but in the format I mentioned, Tajikistan is also included, and Azerbaijan also joins that regional platform. This, in turn, means Azerbaijan's penetration into the Central Asian region and its gaining influence there. Thus, Russia sees that it is gradually losing its traditional sphere of influence, and the Kremlin accepts this.”
He also emphasized that both the Central Asian countries' departure from Russia's sphere of influence and Azerbaijan's active role in this process create a certain jealousy in Russia:
“Approximately a week ago, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan signed an agreement on bilateral strategic partnership during his visit to Kazakhstan. Before that, the Prime Minister of Georgia had visited all Central Asian countries. Thus, the South Caucasus countries are now moving closer to the Central Asian alliance. There is no longer as much need for Russia as before. Russia, meanwhile, remains outside both transit routes and strategic routes like the “Silk Road.” This situation worries and irritates Russia. However, being preoccupied with the war in Ukraine, it lacks the strength, resources, or real influence to reach our region,” E. Shikhli noted.
It should be recalled that in August, Moscow's Basmanny Court arrested Shahin Shikhlinksi, the head of the “Azerbaijan-Ural” public organization and the Azerbaijani diaspora in Yekaterinburg, in absentia. He voluntarily surrendered in Moscow and was taken from there to Yekaterinburg.
Local media reports that a criminal case has been opened against Shahin Shikhlinksi under two articles of the Russian Criminal Code.
He was wanted under Article 318 (use of violence against a representative of authority) and Part 2 of Article 105 (intentional homicide) of the Russian Criminal Code.
