SIZO warders refuse advocate to visit sentenced Azerbaijani activist

An advocate was not allowed to visit Alizamin Salaev, an activist of the Popular Front Party of Azerbaijan (PFPA), sentenced for posting a video criticizing a policeman. Defender Elchin Sadygov treats the above refusal in a visit to his client as an interference with his professional activities and a violation of the arrested activist's rights.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that on January 13, Alizamin Salaev was arrested for 30 days under an administrative procedure after disseminating on social networks a video criticizing a policeman. The sentence was pronounced on April 20. Alizamin Salaev was sentenced to 2 years and 3 months of imprisonment on the charges of defamation and insult.

On April 27, advocate Elchin Sadygov was not allowed to visit Alizamin Salaev, an activist of the Popular Front Party of Azerbaijan (PFPA), kept at the Baku SIZO-1 (pre-trial prison). "I submitted all the necessary documents and attached an advocate warrant. But I was not allowed to visit my client. Warders demanded from me to submit a letter from the court. However, this was an unreasonable demand, especially since the court has already considered the case and pronounced the sentence. When I proved that their request was unlawful, they told me that I was to submit permission from the Penitentiary Service. Meanwhile, such a request is also not provided for by the law," Elchin Sadygov explained to the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent.

The advocate treated the above refusal in the visit to his client as an interference with his professional advocacy and a violation of the Alizamin Salaev's rights to defence.

This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on April 28, 2020 at 02:55 pm MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.