Afgan Mukhtarly Not in Punishment Cell - Prison Service (Updated)

Baku / 09.24.19 / Turan: Information about the placement of Afgan Mukhtarly in the punishment cell is untrue, the Prison Service claims.

According to the head of the public relations department of the Prison Service Mehman Sadigov, Mukhtarly began a hunger strike on September 23, but was not put in a punishment cell.

"He was isolated from other prisoners because of a hunger strike. He can be placed in a separate room or medical unit, but he is not punished," said Sadigov. -05B-

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Afgan Mukhtarly Imprisoned in Punishment Cell

Baku /23.09.19 / Turan: The journalist Afgan Mukhtarly, who went on a hunger strike in Prison No. 16 on September 22, was put in solitary confinement on Monday. This was reported by the NIDA activist Samir Asadli. According to him, the journalist is punished precisely for a hunger strike.

"For two days now, Afgan has not taken food or medicine. He suffers from diabetes. If something happens to him, then the Prison Service will be responsible for this," Asadli said.

Earlier, the Prison Service said that Mukhtarly had really started a hunger strike, but not on the 22nd, but on September 23rd.

On September 22, Mukhtarly"s statement was circulated about a hunger strike in protest against physical pressure on his lawyer Nemat Karimli and violation of the confidentiality of his notes.

** The investigative journalist Afgan Mukhtarly was abducted in Tbilisi in May 2017, secretly transported to Azerbaijan and arrested. Subsequently, the court sentenced him to 6 years in prison on charges of smuggling and violence against a border guard.

Amnesty International recognizes Mukhtarly as a "prisoner of conscience." -21B06-