Fazil Gasymov claims threat of rape in custody

On August 15, a preparatory hearing was held in the Serious Crimes Court for PhD student and economist Fazil Gasymov from Istanbul University, who has been on a hunger strike for 62 days at the Penitentiary Service's medical facility. During the hearing, it was revealed that Gasymov’s case has been separated from that of Gubad Ibadoglu, despite Gasymov's initial arrest being related to allegations of passing counterfeit money to Ibadoglu.

As a result, Gasymov and his lawyer requested that the cases be combined and that his arrest be replaced with another form of detention, considering Gasymov’s condition. However, the court rejected these requests. Gasymov stated that during the investigation he was pressured to provide information about the Azerbaijan Youth Education Foundation he established. He claimed this was the reason for his persecution and arrest in Istanbul.

Gasymov alleged that during the investigation in Baku, psychotropic substances were added to his tea and he was subjected to physical pressure, which led him to make confessions. He claimed that in pre-trial detention, he was coerced into cooperating with the investigation under the threat of being placed in a cell with homosexuals where he would be raped.

Human rights defender Rufat Safarov, present at the hearing, asked Gasymov where this threat occurred. Gasymov responded that the threats were made in the Kurdakhani detention facility, and one of the individuals who threatened him was the head of the facility, Elnur Ismailov. “Gasymov looked horrifying; after 62 days of hunger strike, he weighs about 40 kg, barely stands, and speaks with difficulty,” noted Safarov. The next hearing is scheduled for August 29.

Fazil Gasymov was detained in Türkiye on August 7, 2023, and brought to Azerbaijan, where he faces charges under Article 204.3.1 of the Criminal Code (production, acquisition, or sale of counterfeit money as part of an organized group). The investigation claims he handed counterfeit money to opposition politician Gubad Ibadoglu, who was later arrested. Gasymov recently stated in a plea to the Attorney General, Ombudswoman, local and international public that he gave these confessions under torture. He retracted these statements, asserting he did not pass counterfeit money to Ibadoglu and had never discussed FETO (the Movement led by Fethullah Gülen, recognized as a terrorist organization in Türkiye) with him. Since June 14, Gasymov has been on a hunger strike to protest what he claims is unwarranted criminal prosecution and torture during the early stages of the investigation.