Activists call on Azerbaijani authorities to let Mekhman Guseinov visit his mother

Today, members of NGOs and journalists have appealed to the Azerbaijani Ministry of Justice (MoJ) with a request to let blogger Mekhman Guseinov, sentenced for slander, visit his seriously ill mother.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that blogger Mekhman Guseinov complained about torture after his detention for disobeying the police. The Ministry of Internal Affairs (MIA) and personally the chief of the police department accused the blogger of slander. Mekhman Guseinov was sentenced to two years of imprisonment.

Today, about 10 journalists and NGO activists have come to the Penitentiary Service to hand over an appeal for a short-term leave to Mekhman Guseinov to visit his seriously ill mother, the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent reports.

The activists met Mekhman Sadygov, the head of the PR Department of the Penitentiary Service, who recommended sending an appeal to the leaders of the Azerbaijani MoJ.

Today, the activists have sent a telegram with a collective appeal to the leaders of the Penitentiary Service and the Azerbaijani MoJ.

The laws permit a short-term leave to be given to prisoners in cases when their close relatives die or are in serious condition, the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent was explained by rights defender Samira Agaeva, one of the authors of the appeal, the deputy chairman of the movement "D-18".

According to the rights defender, the appeal should be considered immediately, and in case of refusal to grant a short-term leave, the decision should be justified.

This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on July 30, 2018 at 04:43 pm MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.