ECHR fined the government of Azerbaijan for the death of the prisoner

Baku / 04.05.17 / Turan: The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) today announced the decision on the complaint of Azerbaijani citizen Zeynal Mustafayev in connection with the death of his son Mahir in Gobustan prison. The interests of the applicant in the ECHR were represented by the lawyer Asabali Mustafayev. The plaintiff complained about an ineffective investigation into his son's death and asked the ECHR to find a violation of Article 2 (the right to life) of the European Convention on Human Rights.

The court granted the complaint and ordered the applicant to pay 20,000 euros in moral compensation and another 3,500 euros to reimburse the court expenses. The lawyer A.Mustafayev in his commentary pointed out the relevance of this case in the light of the facts of the deaths of prisoners in pre-trial detention facilities and colonies. This is relevant and instructive because similar attitudes towards prisoners continue in many colonies and the Gobustan prison.

The late Mahir Mustafayev defended his rights whilehe was in prison, and  caused the anger of the prison administration. In his complaint he informed about the threat of his life. On December 3, 2006, he burnt in his cell under strange circumstances. There are two versions for this incident.

According to the official version, Mahir Mustafayev at night smoked and dropped the cigarette butt onto the bed, having received severe burns. After that he allegedly wrote testimony that the fire occurred due to his imprudence. And immediately after that, he deteriorated sharply and in the morning he was taken to a medical institution, but he was not brought in until 16.00, where he died.

"According to our version, Mustafayev was tortured by the prison staff, and that is why his body was burned. To hush up the case, a simulated fire was set up in the cell. The person burned to such a degree could not himself write an explanatory one. Experts who visited the camera the next day, found that they immediately made repairs, destroying the traces of fire. The refusal of the prosecutor's office to open a criminal case also gives reason to believe that the case was jammed," said the lawyer. In addition, the parents were informed about the death of the son three days later. Now the government is obliged to conduct new investigations after the decision of the ECtHR. -06D--