A political prisoner attempted suicide in a pre-trial detention center

Baku/22.12.23/Turan: On December 22, Shahin Verdiyev, recognized as a political prisoner, attempted suicide in the Ganja pre-trial detention center-2 in protest against accusations of drug trafficking, his mother, Irina Jafarova, told Turan. "Early in the morning, he tried to hang himself in his cell, but the rope broke. After that, the cellmate did not allow him to hang himself again," she said.

"My son was detained on March 9 in a drug case. He is protesting against this defamatory accusation," Jafarova said. The prisoner's lawyer, Elchin Sadigov, said that he had informed the Penitentiary Service about his client's attempt to commit suicide.

"Shahin Verdiyev was arrested earlier in connection with the events in Ganja in July 2018. After his detention, he was tortured, as a result of which he had serious health problems. He was released a year later. In March of this year, Verdiyev was arrested again. In court, he stated that he was beaten again, and he was placed in a prison hospital," the lawyer said.

The Penitentiary Service denied information about Verdiev's suicide attempt. “There was no such incident,” the department said

*Verdiyev was detained in 2018 in the case of riots in the city of Ganja, a week after the assassination attempt on the then head of the city, Elmar Veliyev. Subsequently, in court, he told about the torture of him in the regiment. He claimed that he was tortured with a taser, suffocated with water, beaten with a baton, and chair legs. "All this was done so that I would sign a false confession," Verdiyev said. In the first and current case, human rights defenders recognized him as a political prisoner.  –03B06-