Azerbaijan Alleges Torture Deaths, Russia Demands Journalists' Release, Armenia Slams "Interference"

Azerbaijani police raided the office of Russia's state-run Sputnik news agency, detaining three journalists, officials and the agency said on Monday (June 30), in the latest escalation of a diplomatic rift between Baku and Moscow.Russia's foreign ministry said it had summoned Azerbaijan's ambassador over the raid and the "unlawful detention of Russian journalists" during the operation at Sputnik's office.The raid comes after two people died during a police operation that targeted the Azerbaijani community in the Russian city of Yekaterinburg last weekend, which resulted in six arrests, sparking outcry in Baku.Russia said that operation was part of a criminal investigation over a series of killings from 2001 to 2011.It said one person died due to a heart attack during the raid and that the other death was still under investigation. Azerbaijan claimed both were killed by the police.Relations between Baku and Moscow have worsened since Azerbaijan accused Russia of downing a passenger plane with an anti-aircraft missile in December last year, causing 38 deaths n18oc_world n18oc_crux0:00 INTRODUCTION2:55 AZERBAIJAN RAIDS RUSSIAN STATE MEDIA OUTLET IN BAKU5:35 “DON’T INTERFERE…”, ARMENIAN FM URGES LAVROV7:28 RUSSIA DUBS SERBIA PROTESTS AS ‘COLOUR REVOLUTION’

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