Polad Aslanov complains of rights violations in colony 15

Head of 'xeberman.com' website Polad Aslanov, who is serving a sentence in colony 15, complained that he is forced to call his family only from the colony deputy director's office and in his presence.

Aslanov regards this as a violation of his right to privacy, his wife Gulmira Aslanov told Turan.

She recalled that Polad was transferred to the colony 15 from the colony 1 after he went on hunger strike in November.

‘The head of the colony said that now he would only call home and only from the offices of the chief or deputy chief.  As soon as Polad starts talking about bad conditions, the connection is cut off,’ the wife said.

Polad was able to talk about bad conditions only during a long meeting on 21-24 January.   Thus, the colony holds 1,500 prisoners instead of the required 1,146. Due to the lack of beds, some prisoners sleep on the floor. At the same time the cells with acceptable conditions are kept closed.

‘Places in these cells used to be sold to prisoners. Now it is forbidden, so the administration has no incentive and keeps the cells closed.

Prisoners are denied medical care for the same reason. When Polad calls the prisoners to complain, he is pressurised,’ Aslanova said.

Polad also reported that there is no hot water in the colony's bathhouse, and the room itself is cold and prisoners cannot wash properly.

Aslanova appealed to the Ombudsman over her husband's complaints.

Earlier, blogger Rashad Ramazanov, who was recognized by human rights activists as a political prisoner, reported violations of prisoners' rights and poor conditions in the colony number 15.

* Polad Aslanov was arrested on 12 June 2019 on charges of spying for Iran - Article 274 of the Criminal Code (state treason). He was sentenced to 16 years of imprisonment.

Aslanov denies all charges as saying that he is being persecuted for exposing corruption among intelligence officers. Human rights activists recognised him as a political prisoner. The Supreme Court subsequently reduced his sentence to 13 years of imprisonment. The ECHR ruled that his imprisonment was unlawful, awarding him monetary compensation.