Azerbaijan demanded on Wednesday that Russia punish those responsible for the deaths of two Azerbaijani men in police custody, refusing to back down in a growing diplomatic dispute. The South Caucasus

Azerbaijan's Prosecutor General has now launched a criminal case accusing Russian police of torturing and deliberately killing the brothers. A post-mortem conducted in Azerbaijan found they died from "post-traumatic" shock after being severely beaten in custody.

Azerbaijan has canceled all cultural events involving Russian institutions in protest over the deaths of two Azerbaijanis during police raids in the Russian city of Yekaterinburg.