Leader of Russia’s Azeri community survives gun attack on his car

RIA news agency
18 Mar 05

MOSCOW

A car carrying the president of the Azeri Cultural Federation in
Russia, Soyun Sadykov, came under automatic weapons fire outside house
No 15 on Khavskaya Ulitsa [street] in Moscow on Friday morning [18
March]. The press service of the Moscow prosecutor’s office has
informed RIA-Novosti of this.

Sadykov was not hurt, but Mikhail Zuyev, who was with him in the
Volkswagen car, received gunshot wounds in the shoulder and head. He
was taken to hospital.

The prosecutor’s office of Moscow’s southern administrative district
has instituted criminal proceedings under articles 30 (“conspiracy to
commit a crime”) and 105 (“murder”) of the Criminal Code of the
Russian Federation.

An investigation is under way and a search for the criminals has been
launched, the prosecutor’s office said.

For its part, the Azeri Cultural Federation expressed profound
indignation at the attempt to kill Sadykov.

“Sadykov has done his utmost to preserve and develop stable relations
between Russia and Azerbaijan and their peoples. He is well known as a
patron of the arts and a man who does a lot of charity work,” says a
statement from the federation which has been received by RIA-Novosti.

[A report by ITAR-TASS news agency, 1251 gmt 18 Mar 04, said Sadykov
was also chairman of the board of the international charitable
foundation Karabakh which assists Azeri refugees from Nagornyy
Karabakh. In the past he had been champion of the USSR for sambo
wrestling – which may account for the speed with which he took evasive
action when the car came under fire.

The same report identified Mikhail Zuyev as Sadykov’s driver.]

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress