Criminal Case on Death of Blogger in Detention Center Terminated

Baku / 15.02.18 / Turan: The criminal case on the death of a blogger and activist Mehman Galandarov in a jail has been stopped. As reported by the human rights activist Ogtay Gulaliyev, the case was initiated after the blogger"s death in Baku Detention Center No. 1 on April 28, 2018 by the Sabunchu district prosecutor's office under Article 125 (bringing to suicide). Subsequently, the case was transferred to the Baku City Prosecutor's Office.

As a result of the preliminary investigation, the prosecutor's office considered that there was no crime in Galandarov's death, and he committed suicide.

The human rights defender Gulaliyev calls into question the objectivity of the investigation, recalling that Galandarov was threatened and warned that he would not come out alive from prison.

Galandarov was arrested on February 7, 2017, on charges of illicit drug trafficking (Article 234.2).

On the day of his arrest Galandarov wrote on his Facebook page: "We will be all like Giyas. We will not be slaves" (the activists Giyas Ibrahimov and Bayram Mammadov were sentenced to 10 years in jail on a false accusation of drug trafficking after they painted the monument to Heydar Aliyev with political slogans - Ed.).

An hour later the police officers came to Galandarov's rented apartment and detained him. On April 28, 2017, he died in jail, according to the official version, committing suicide. -06D-