Russia has extradited two wanted Azerbaijani citizens, Nahid Alikhanov and Renad Orujov, back to Azerbaijan following formal requests from prosecutors.
The Prosecutor General's Office of Azerbaijan announced the legal transfer in an official statement published on its Telegram channel, a messaging platform widely used by government bodies in the region for public announcements. Both men were apprehended on the territory of the Russian Federation before being handed over to Azerbaijani officials by relevant authorities from the Russian Ministry of Justice.
Nahid Alikhanov faces criminal charges of military desertion filed by the military prosecutor's office of Gubadly, a district situated in southwestern Azerbaijan. The second extradited suspect, Renad Orujov, has been charged with fraud involving large scale financial damage. Azerbaijani authorities placed both citizens on an international wanted list after they fled the country to evade ongoing criminal investigations.
International extradition requests in Russia are handled by the Prosecutor General's Office, which evaluates petitions from foreign nations before authorizing the handover of suspects. The legal mechanism is governed by bilateral legal assistance treaties signed among post-Soviet states, allowing law enforcement agencies across the region to cooperate on fugitive recovery and cross-border law enforcement.
Diplomatic context and media tensions
The surrender of the suspects comes alongside recent diplomatic commentary regarding broader bilateral relations between Moscow and Baku. Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova previously commented on Azerbaijan's decision to place three Russian journalists on a wanted list. Zakharova also observed that narratives unfriendly to Moscow appear regularly within the Azerbaijani media environment.
Zakharova has served as the official spokesperson for Russia's Foreign Ministry since 2015, regularly presenting Moscow's foreign policy positions and responding to regional diplomatic developments. Azerbaijan and Russia share extensive geographic, economic, and historical ties in the South Caucasus, maintaining active diplomatic communication despite periodic media friction.
Following their transfer by Russian authorities, Alikhanov and Orujov remain in Azerbaijani custody as law enforcement agencies and military prosecutors prepare to proceed with their respective trials.
