Azerbaijani journalist complains about custody conditions at detention centre

The Baku Court of Appeal (BCA) has dismissed the complaint, lodged by Shamistan Khaziev, a journalist and activist of the Popular Front Party of Azerbaijan (PFPA), about his arrest. At the trial, Khaziev complained about poor custody conditions at the detention centre.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that Shamistan Khaziev, a 23-year-old employee of the "ann.az" website, was detained on October 31. On the same day, the Yasamal District Court sentenced him to 30 days of administrative arrest on charges of "petty hooliganism."

On November 5, the BCA considered the Khaziev's complaint about his arrest. His colleagues told the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent that he complained to the court about physical pressure on him at the detention centre.

"Shamistan told that after his arrest he was subjected to physical pressure. And yesterday (on November 4), he was placed into a cell with drug addicts and inmates infected with hepatitis C and HIV. This morning he called his lawyer Shakhla Gumbatova and told about it. But his phone conversation was interrupted; and he was threatened that he would not be allowed to call anymore and that he would face bad things. Shamistan told the court about it; however, despite all that, the court ignored his words and dismissed the complaint," his colleagues have stated.

This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on November 5, 2019 at 09:44 pm MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.