Rashad Ramazanov reported being beaten in an Azerbaijani prison.

Blogger Rashad Ramazanov, convicted in an Azerbaijani drug case, said he was beaten in the prison colony where he is serving his sentence. He also accused the prison director of making death threats.

As reported by the "Caucasian Knot," in early 2025, Azerbaijani blogger Rashad Ramazanov, convicted in a drug case, complained that the prison colony where he is being held is overcrowded and unsanitary, and that inmates are being pressured. In February, he also said that he was subjected to violence by prison staff.

Rashad Ramazanov himself reported to journalists in a letter received by Gazetchi about the brutal beating he suffered at the hands of one of the prison's directors. In it, Ramazanov claims that after the beating, he experienced such severe pain that his groans disturbed other prisoners.

According to the blogger, during the beating, the prison warden reminded him of an interview with Ganimat Zahid for the online channel "Azerbaijani Hour" and his comments about three inmates killed in prisons. Ramazanov interpreted the words "don't pretend you're the fourth" as a death threat. Due to a lack of funds, Ramazanov's family was unable to hire a lawyer to visit him in prison, so there is no information about his condition or the results of his medical examination, Meydan TV reported on January 22.

Rashad Ramazanov noted that other inmates in the prison where he is serving his sentence are also subjected to beatings and humiliating treatment. Justice Minister Farid Akhmedov has repeatedly stated that prison officials will be held criminally liable for the abuse and torture of prisoners, but these statements are in fact untrue, he added.

The prison administration and the Azerbaijani Penitentiary Service have not commented on Ramazanov's statements, Toplum TV reports. Gulmira Aslanova, the wife of convicted Azerbaijani journalist Polad Aslanov, contacted the Azerbaijani Human Rights Commissioner via Facebook* on January 22 regarding Ramazanov's beating, but the ombudsman's office has not responded.