Journalist Polad Aslanov faces new provocations, his wife reports

Azerbaijani journalist Polad Aslanov was subjected to new provocations in prison. One of the prisoners insults him, but the administration of the penal colony does not try to stop the insults and provokes the convicted journalist to retaliatory illegal actions, a wife of the journalist says.

The “Caucasian Knot” has reported that on April 9, Gyulmira Aslanova, a spouse of Azerbaijani journalist Polad Aslanov, was invited to the Prosecutor’s Office and promised that a complaint filed by her husband about beating would be investigated. On April 19, the woman reported about provocations against her husband in the penal colony.

Gyulmira Aslanova said that her husband called from the penal colony and complained about new provocations.

“The cellmate who hit him 20 days ago insults him again ... Polad usually tries not to react to insults, but his patience is not unlimited,” Gyulmira Aslanova noted.

According to her, Polad Aslanov filed a complaint to the deputy chief of the penal colony. In response, the official offered to fight back the offender.

“It is clear that they want to provoke Polad to illegal actions, so that later they can place him to a punishment cell or open a new criminal case against him,” Polad Aslanov’s wife said.

Earlier, Elshan Gasanov, the head of the Centre for Monitoring Political Prisoners, has stated there is a practice in the penitentiary system of Azerbaijan of using prisoners against the convicts undesirable for the authorities and penitentiary administration.