AI urges Azerbaijani authorities to investigate journalist Gashimli's alleged torture

The international human rights organization "Amnesty International" (AI) has demanded from the Ministry of National Security (MNS) of Azerbaijan to investigate the allegations that the journalist and human rights activist Parviz Gashimli was exposed to torture and inhuman treatment while at the SIZO (pre-trial prison) of the MNS. The journalist's lawyer asserts that his client in under pressure, while the MNS denies any possibility of torture and the allegation that the activist is prosecuted for political reasons.

On December 13, the AI sent its appeals to Eldar Makhmudov, the head of the MNS; Zakir Garalov, the Prosecutor General; and Elmira Suleimanova, the Azerbaijani Ombudsperson, in the context of the reports that journalist Parviz Gashimli had been tortured.

"Gashimli told his lawyer that he had been ill-treated during 'informal questioning' in the rooms of the MNS, unfamiliar to him. In particular, he was interrogated blindfolded. According to the lawyer, the request for a medical examination of the journalist was rejected," says the press release of the AI received by the "Caucasian Knot".

In his turn, Arif Babaev, the Head of Public Relations Centre of the MNS, has refuted the claims of the political motivation of Gashimli's arrest and of torturing him. According to his version, Gashimli and his lawyers are deliberately spreading false information, aiming to give a political context to the case.

In the coming days, Elchin Bekhbudov, the head of the Azerbaijani Committee against Torture, plans to visit Parviz Gashimli at the SIZO.