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Azerbaijani Human Rights Defender meets with prisoners going on hunger strike in Gobustan jail

18 August 2008 13:55 (UTC +04:00)

Baku. Mahbuba Gasimbayli â€“ APA. Chief of Azerbaijani Committee against Torture Elchin Behbudov visited Gobustan jail. The Committee Chief told APA that he had gone to the jail at the request of lifersâ€™ relatives. The Human Rights Defender said there were over 200 life-term prisoners in the jail, 5 lifers died within a year, two of them committed suicide.

The Committee Chief said he had met with life-term prisoners â€“ former department chief of Interior Ministry Zakir Nasirov, Elchin Amiraslanov, Farrukh Karimov, Dayanat Karimov, Imran Jannatov and Vugar Aliyev. Zakir Nasirov did not admit his guilt and Dayanat Karimov suffered from nervous disease. Elchin Behbudov said Elchin Amiraslanov and Farrukh Karimov told him that they had started hunger strike since August 12.
â€œThe prison administration refuted it. Farrukh Karimov attempted to commit suicide on August 15 protesting against his being handcuffed. But the warders prevented him from doing it,â€ he said.

Elchin Amiraslanov told the committee chief that he had undergone force in the jail, but the prison administration said the prisoners were handcuffed only when they were taken out of the cell and it was in accordance with the legislation.
â€œThe prison administration said some prisoners could hurt the warders thatâ€™s why they were handcuffed when they were taken out of the cell. Deputy chief Azer Musayev told me that a prisoner kicked him when leaving the cell. In order to prevent such cases, these prisoners are handcuffed,â€ he said.

The Human Rights Defender said there were problems between the prisoners and warders and noted that he would appeal to Deputy Justice Minister, chief of Penitentiary Service Nazim Alakbarov.
â€œI brought the shortcomings to the notice of the prison administration,â€ he said.