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Elchin Behbudov: Prisoners say former chief of Gobustan Prison gave out psychotropic substances - UPDATED

Elchin Behbudov: Prisoners say former chief of Gobustan Prison gave out psychotropic substances - <font color=red>UPDATED</font>

27 October 2007 13:49 (UTC +04:00)

Elchin Behbudov, Chairman of the Azerbaijan Committee against Tortures, has today visited Gobustan Jail and met a lifer Elchin Amiraslanov on his brotherâ€™s request.
Behbudov told APA that Amiraslanov said he was not beaten.
â€œI met him in jail. He told me that rumors that he cut himself and was beaten are not true. He said he has a headache now,â€ he said.
Behbudov also noted that he met with other prisoners â€“ Bakhtiyar Jafarov, also Sideyif Babayev who stitched up his mouse on hunger strike, and Azad Babayev who cut his arms.
â€œNot lifers but term prisoners went on hunger strike in the jail. They have problems. Their problems are related to lack of medicines and doctors. Kazim Abdullayev, the newly appointed chief of the jail, told me that the medicines the prisoners want are psychotropic substances. The prison doctor also said that prisoners want psychotropic drugs. Prisoners admitted that Alizade Huseynov, former chief of the jail, distributed psychotropic drugs to them,â€ Behbudov said.
He denied media reports that military troops were taken to the prison.
Former Chief of the Prison Alizade Huseynov told APA that he never distributed psychotropic drugs among prisoners.
â€œIt is completely untrue that I did that. It is impossible. On the contrary, I always prevented such cases. It is untrue information. I donâ€™t believe that jail officers or prisoners said this. How could the prison chief do this? It has become a tradition to speak behind somebodyâ€™s back. I didnâ€™t abuse my work. I was acting the chief for 8 months. Then, I went back to my previous work after my appointment,â€ he said. /APA/