Oppositionist Salaev's son reports pressure on his father in colony

Alizamin Salaev, an Azerbaijani political prisoner, was transferred from SIZO (pre-trial prison) to a colony, where he is harassed and beaten up, his son has claimed. Salaev's defence has applied to the Penitentiary Service with a demand to investigate the activist's complaints of physical violence, said his advocate.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that on September 17, it became known that Salaev complained of beatings in the colony after he had declared a hunger strike in solidarity with Tofig Yagublu.

Ogtai Salaev, Alizamin's son, has told the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent that as soon as his father was transferred to Colony No. 16, they began harassing and beating him up for no reason. "For the slightest reason – because he was late for line-up, or because he made his bed wrong," Ogtai said.

According to his story, the last time his father called home on September 17. "He said that he was holding a hunger strike for the third day both in solidarity with Tofig Yagublu, and in protest against the infringement of his own rights, and against oppression. During his hunger strike, they began beating him more often," the son said.

Elchin Sadygov, an advocate, has confirmed to the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent that he knows about Alizamin Salaev's hunger strike and his oppressions. "Today, I wrote an official appeal to the Penitentiary Service that Alizamin Salaev's complaints of physical violence should be investigated. Next week, I'll try to visit him in the colony," Mr Sadygov has added.

This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on September 18, 2020 at 09:42 pm MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.