Suspected deserter returned to Russia by Azerbaijan

A Russian soldier suspected of deserting his unit who was detained in Azerbaijan in January at the request of the Russian Prosecutor General’s Office has been extradited to Russia, Azerbaijan’s Prosecutor General’s Office announced on Wednesday.

Sotim Savlatov, 28, was born in Tajikistan but later became a Russian citizen and was living in the western Tver region prior to serving in the army, according to independent media outlet Mediazona.

While details of the case remain scant and it is not known where Savlatov was serving when he absconded from his unit, Savlatov is known to have been on the Russian Interior Ministry’s wanted list since at least October 2023.

This is not the first case of Russian soldiers who have fled the country to avoid military service being forcibly returned to Russia from countries where they had sought refuge.

In December 2023, Dmitry Setrakov, a Russian conscript who had deserted his unit and fled to Armenia, was abducted by Russian troops and forcibly returned to Russia in the first known case of extraordinary rendition being used to repatriate a fugitive conscript.

Setrakov was taken to the regional military police in Rostov-on-Don in southern Russia, according to Get Lost, an organisation that helps Russian men avoid conscription or to desert.