Azerbaijani oppositionist Karimli placed in solitary confinement

In Azerbaijan, Elbai Karimli, an activist of the Popular Front Party serving a prison sentence, was beaten and placed in solitary confinement after he protested in front of representatives of the Ministry of Justice and the penitentiary service who arrived at the colony.

As "Caucasian Knot" reported, in June 2024, the Baku appellate court reduced the prison term of opposition party member Elbai Karimli, convicted of drug possession, from six to five years.

Karimli was placed in solitary confinement in a correctional facility; his associates learned of this on July 13.   "We received information from the colony that Elbai was placed in solitary confinement. Representatives of the Ministry of Justice and the penitentiary service recently visited the colony and at a meeting with prisoners, Elbai sharply criticized the authorities and said that he was arrested on trumped-up charges. After the commission left, Elbai was beaten and thrown into a punishment cell,” the PFPA press service told the “Caucasian Knot” correspondent.

According to the party representative, he does not yet have exact information on how long Kerimli has been placed in solitary confinement. “We will ask a lawyer to visit Kerimli in the colony. We hope that Elbai’s punishment will not be long, and that he will be allowed to contact us quickly. The young man has no relatives, and he contacts his party comrades,” the oppositionist said.

It was not possible to obtain comments from the Penitentiary Service.

Recall that Elbai Kerimli joined the PFPA several months before his arrest, said Ilham Huseyn, a member of the Presidium of the Supreme Majlis of the PFPA, in January. "The young man worked as a food delivery courier. He lives alone, has no parents or close relatives. The reason for his arrest was the inscription he made on the monument to Heydar Aliyev: "Stalin". The police immediately grabbed him, and then a criminal case was fabricated against him on charges of illegal drug trafficking," Guseyn said.

During his membership in the party, Karimli did not have time to get involved in its activities, Guseyn said in April 2024. "Writing the word "Stalin" on the monument to Heydar Aliyev was his personal initiative; the party did not give him such an assignment. If he had shared such an idea, we probably would have dissuaded him from doing so, because by taking such a step, he was exposing himself to a completely unjustified risk," Ilham Huseyn said.