GPO of Azerbaijan starts investigation into the death of a lady-former political prisoner

The General Prosecutor's Office (GPO) of Azerbaijan has informed about an investigation conducted into the death at imprisonment of Faina Kungurova. However, the GPO's source has noted that the Office has not yet received the conclusion of the forensic-medical examination on the reasons of Kungurova's death on November 18 at the Shuvalan pre-trial detention facility (SIZO).

According to preliminary information disclosed by the Office, Ms Kungurova had refused to take food and was transferred to the medical establishment of the Penitentiary Service, but there she also refused to take food and medicines. Only after her health became bad, Kungurova allowed taking medical aid. "However, it was already too late, and the doctors failed to save her life," the spokesman of the Prosecutor's Office said.

We note here that the "Caucasian Knot" informed earlier that Faina Kungurova, a former activist of the Democratic Party, died on November 18 in the prison hospital of the Shuvalan SIZO. By nonofficial data, the reason of her death was exhaustion, however, her relatives have explained that they permanently brought food to her.

Faina Kungurova was detained several weeks ago on not quite clear reasons. Thus, according to her relatives, the police detained her for "being suspiciously close to the route along which the motorcade of the head of the state was moving."

At examination of Kungurova's bag, the police found out a photo of Rasul Guliev, ex-speaker of the Azerbaijani Parliament and leader of the Democratic Party. The relatives assert that the photo was the real pretext for her detention. In their turn, law enforcement bodies had accused Kungurova of keeping drugs.