Human Rights Activists on Torture and Situation in Nardaran

Baku / 05/17/19 / Turan: The Union "For the Freedom of Political Prisoners of Azerbaijan" will prepare a new report on the persecution of citizens for political reasons and torture in places of detention. This decision was made on May 17 at a meeting of the human rights structure.

According to the Union coordinator Elshan Hasanov, the preparation of the new report is related to the increase in the number of political prisoners in connection with the trials on the Ganja events of July 2018.

The first group of convicts is already included in the list of political prisoners. A decision was made on the second group, and in the near future the trials of other arrested persons will be completed.

"The trials confirm the political nature of the criminal cases. Many people were arrested just because they are believers. The confessions were knocked out by sophisticated torture," Hasanov said.

According to him, given the widespread use of torture in detention centers and penitentiaries, the report will pay special attention to this.

In addition, human rights activists intend to focus on the affairs of "life-seekers". We are talking about persons who were once sentenced to death, but due to the abolition of capital punishment, the shooting was replaced by life imprisonment. Considering the fact that at the time of sentencing, the alternative to the death penalty was 15 years in prison, the convicts had already served 20-25 years in prison. "From the point of view of law, and from the point of view of the logic and humanity, these people, some of whom are seriously ill, must be released," Hasanov said.

Finally, the Union plans to prepare a separate report on the situation in Nardaran. "In this village there is still an unofficial state of emergency, introduced after the special operation in November 2015.

Local residents are still under pressure, and many of them are afraid to enter the Internet. At the same time, the village continues to remain in isolation, as practically no outsiders are allowed in there. We were not even allowed to commemorate," the activist said.

The Union was established by human rights activists Leyla Yunus, Elshan Hasanov, Hilal Mammadov, and also the head of the Union of Intellectuals of Azerbaijan Eldaniz Guliyev in November 2018. -06D-