Activists Call for International Investigation into Traffic Accident with Gyulalyev

Baku / 21.11.19 / Turan: On Thursday, at the headquarters of the Musavat party, a regular meeting of the Committee against Repression and Torture was held.

The event was dedicated to the continuation of the Committee's activities after October 29, when its coordinator Ogtay Gyulalyev was hit by a car and is being in a grave state of health.

The meeting pointed to the recent increase in the number of cases of torture in the country. The Committee member Eldaniz Guliyev noted that after an accident in which Gyulalyev was seriously injured, a break occurred in the work of the committee. However, the other day, the well-known lawyer Namizad Safarov was elected the new coordinator of the structure.

Guliyev pointed out that torture in the country is expanding and authorities are crossing all red lines.

“Not only ordinary citizens, activists not known to the general public, but even leaders of opposition parties are already being tortured. So, after being detained at a rally on October 19, PFPA leader Ali Karimli, member of the coordination center of the National Council of Democratic Forces Tofig Yagublu, and former MP Ibrahim Ibrahimli were tortured. In order to stop torture and repression, civil society institutions and the international community must increase efforts,” Guliyev said.

PFPA leader Karimli said torture has already become a means of political struggle.

An investigation into the facts of torture has now become risky.

On the other hand, an increase in the number of tortures increases anger and hatred in society. To eliminate this, torture must be abandoned, Karimli said.

“The society should censure the customer and the perpetrators of torture in order to complicate their lives,” Karimli said.

He also noted the need for international sanctions against them, and in particular Magnitsky’s law.

The head of the Musavat party Arif Hajili said that torture is the gravest crime in the world. However, this practice continues in Azerbaijan. According to him, the practice of torture began to expand in Azerbaijan since 2003.

Following the meeting, a statement was adopted calling on the international community to express a serious reaction to torture in Azerbaijan. The authors also called on to conduct an international investigation into the accident, in which Gyulalyev was seriously injured.

Note that the Azerbaijani authorities deny the use of torture. — 06D--