Observatory in Defense of Human Rights Defenders initiates the defense of Elchin Mamed

Baku/13.04.21/Turan: The Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders (OPHRD) has prepared a petition to the Azerbaijani authorities calling for the treatment of the prisoner activist and journalist Elchin Mammad and his release from prison.

Elchin Mammad is being held in Jail N14 of the Penitentiary Service, where his health has deteriorated sharply due to the lack of adequate medical care, the appeal reads. Family members reported that he urgently needed hospitalization, as he had lost a lot of weight during his detention and had swollen legs. "He is sick with hepatitis C, his health is of particular concern and the risk of contracting Covid-19 is high due to overcrowding in prisons in Azerbaijan," the petition said.

OPHRD recalls that on March 30, 2020, police arrested Mammad at his home in Sumgayit. This happened a few days after he published a critical report on the human rights situation in Azerbaijan on the Internet.

He was accused of stealing jewelry and storing ammunition. On October 14, 2020, the Sumgait City Court sentenced Mammad to four years in prison.

“However, the circumstances under which the verdict was passed suggest that Mammad was deprived of the right to a fair trial. The evidence against him was falsified." OPHRD expresses extreme concern for Mammad's health and urges the Azerbaijani authorities to immediately and unconditionally release him and provide him with access to adequate medical care and treatment.

OPHRD asks to send emails to the President of Azerbaijan, the Prosecutor General of the country, the Foreign Minister, the Minister of Justice, as well as to the Permanent Mission of Azerbaijan to the UN in Geneva with the following calls:

- Guarantee the physical integrity and psychological well-being of Mammad and provide him with immediate access to necessary medical care;

-Immediately and unconditionally release Mammad, as well as all human rights defenders arbitrarily detained in the country;

- Put an end to all forms of persecution, including at the judicial level, against Mammad, as well as against all other human rights defenders in Azerbaijan.

Earlier, international organizations Amnesty International, PEN, FİACAT and others condemned the arrest of Mammad, and local human rights activists recognized him as a political prisoner.

The Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders (OPHRD) is a joint program of the World Organization against Torture (OMCT) and the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH). —06B-