Wife of Avaz Zeynalli held a rally in front of the Investigation Department of the Prosecutor General's Office

Baku/24.01.23/Turan: On January 24, Malakhat Gisuri, the wife of the arrested journalist Avaz Zeynalli, held a protest in front of the building of the Investigation Department of the Prosecutor General's Office. She demanded that her husband's rights to telephone conversations and visits be ensured, and that conditions be created for him to have an operation on his eyes.

“For five months my husband has been held in a pre-trial detention center. All this time he is forbidden to call home and we are not allowed to meet. He did not commit some serious state crime in order to be completely isolated. He has the legal right to see family members and call them,” Gisuri told Turan. She noted that her appeals to the President of the country and the Ombudsman remained unanswered, and the lawyers' complaint to the court was not satisfied.

During the action, she called on the President of the country, the Prosecutor General and the head of the Investigation Department of the Prosecutor's Office to lift the ban on telephone conversations and meetings with Avaz Zeynalli.

“I also demanded that the money seized during the search of our house, set aside to pay for the education of our children, be returned,” Gisuri said. She also recalled her husband's serious health problems.

In the medical institution, the pre-trial detention center comes up with various pretexts to prevent the operation of the eyes. In conclusion, Gisuri noted that she would hold actions in front of the Investigation Department of the Prosecutor General's Office every week until her demands were satisfied.

Some time after the start of the action, Gisuri was received by the deputy head of the tracking department, Gasim Mammadov. According to her, Mammadov promised that within 2-3 days the issues raised by her would be considered and appropriate decisions would be made.

* Lawyer Elchin Sadigov and "Khural TV" website founder Avaz Zeynalli were detained on September 10 on suspicion of accepting a bribe, and on September 11 the court arrested both.

On September 17, the Baku Court of Appeal transferred Sadigov to house arrest. Later, Zeynalli brought a new charge - under the Article 312-1.1 (Illegal influence on the decision of an official (trading in authority) of the Criminal Code. On December 29, Zeynalli's arrest was extended by 3 months. ---06D---