Relatives of opposition activist Bagirzade report his torture in jail

Zeinal Bagirzade, an opposition activist, "was exposed to inhuman treatment and torture in prison," his brother Yashar Bagirsoy has stated.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that Zeinal Bagirzade, a PFPA activist was detained in November 2015. According to investigators, he had rendered resistance to public agents. Following the results of the investigation, he was charged under Article 315.2 (use of violence against a public agent dangerous to his life or health). On February 3, 2016, the court sentenced Zeinal Bagirzade to eight years of imprisonment.

"On Monday, February 27, I visited my brother, who is kept in a mixed-type penitentiary institution in the Kangarli District of the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic (NAR). Zeinal looked severely malnourished and sick; he could barely speak," Yashar Bagirsoy told the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent.

"It turned out that 10 days ago, at the 20-degree frost, he was driven, half-naked, into the yard, and was kept there in the snow with his hands and feet roped, until he lost consciousness. Then, he was thrown into a solitary confinement, which is not heated, and where the temperature was close to zero. The worst thing is that after all this, his whole body hurts, but he receives no treatment. We have an impression that all these actions were premeditated," said the brother, who is the head of the regional branch of the Popular Front Party of Azerbaijan (PFPA).

He suggested that Zeinal Bagirzade had been tortured because he filed a complaint against his verdict to the Supreme Court of Azerbaijan.

Full text of the article is available on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’.