Presumption of innocence violated in Biryulyovo murder suspect’s case – Azeri Foreign Ministry

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(Interfax – BAKU, October 17, 2013) Azerbaijan’s Embassy in Moscow has lodged a protest with the Russian Foreign Ministry over what it called violations of the rights of Azeri native Orkhan Zeynalov, who is suspected of killing ethnic Russian man Yegor Shcherbakov in the Biryulyovo district in southern Moscow.

“The brutal detention and brutal treatment of Orkhan Zeynalov, whom they called a “criminal” even before his possible conviction by the court, violate the principle dictating the presumption of innocence,” Azeri Foreign Ministry spokesman Elman Abdullayev said at a press conference on Thursday.

The Azeri authorities are prepared to extend the required legal support to Zeynalov, he said. Such instructions have already been issued to Azerbaijan’s diplomatic mission in Russia, he added.

Speaking on behalf of the Azeri authorities, Abdullayev offered their profound condolences to the family of Yegor Shcherbakov.

“Regrettably, a political spin has been given to this purely domestic incident,” he said.

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