Religious activist told in court about torture

Baku/24.05.23/Turan: The Baku Court of Appeal today held a preliminary hearing on the complaint of Muslim Unity Movement activist Abbas Huseyn.

The complaint was filed against the decision of the court of first instance to toughen the punishment regime for Huseyn and transfer him to the Gobustan indoor prison.

Lawyer Fakhraddin Mehdiyev told reporters that Huseyn told the court that he had been beaten and tortured in colony number 7.

"We have already filed a complaint in this regard with the prosecutor's office. Depending on the results of the investigation, we will take further action. If the prosecutor's office refuses to open a criminal case, we will appeal against this decision in court," the lawyer said.

In turn, the activist's sister Yasemen Huseynova said that her brother still has traces of violence on his face and hands.

A hearing on the merits is scheduled for May 30.

*Head of the Muslim Union movement, Taleh Bagirzadeh, Abbas Huseyn and a number of other religious figures were detained on 26 November 2015 as a result of an Interior Ministry special operation in the village of Nardaran.

The detainees were accused of participating in a criminal group organised by Bagirzadeh. The court found them guilty of terrorism, illegal possession of weapons, attempting to violently change the constitutional order, resisting police and violating other articles of the Criminal Code, and sentenced them to imprisonment ranging from 12 to 19 years. Abbas Husein was sentenced to 20 years of' imprisonment. And he spent the first seven years already in Gobustan prison.

He and a number of other activists are recognised as political prisoners. -030В60-