Ashurov’s spouse demands reaction of police and Ombudsperson to provocations in temporary detention facility

The police did not conduct an examination of a drink, after which Azerbaijani oppositionist Samir Ashurov, who was kept in a temporary detention facility, felt ill, and the Ombudsperson did not provide verification of the reasons for the oppositionist’s deterioration in health, a spouse of the arrested activist states.

The “Caucasian Knot” has reported that in late July, Samir Ashurov, a member of the Popular Front Party of Azerbaijan (PFPA), reported about a provocation in the temporary detention facility. According to his spouse, on July 25, Samir Ashurov was transferred from a SIZO (the pre-trial prison) to a temporary detention facility in the Nizami district police department and a man was placed in his cell who said that he had also been expelled from Germany. The new cellmate treated Samir to a drink, after which the oppositionist’s condition deteriorated sharply.

On August 3, Nurana Ashurova, a spouse of Samir Ashurov, said that she came to the Nizami district police department and demanded a clarification from an investigator about what had happened to her husband in the temporary detention facility. “I asked what was added to a Cola drink, which was brought to the cell and treated to Samir? And who was the person brought to the cell?” the spouse of Samir Ashurov told the “Caucasian Knot” correspondent.

“After my husband was poisoned, neither the police nor the Ombudsperson’s office took any steps in connection with my appeals to investigate the composition of the Cola drink that was given to my husband. The lack of desire of the police to investigate the issue indicates that a deliberate provocation was committed against my husband,” the activist’s spouse believes.

This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on August 4, 2022 at 02:03 pm MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.