Azerbaijani reaction to DoS' report: human rights activists confirm, authorities refute

The report of the US Department of State (DoS) on the situation with human rights has caused an ambiguous reaction in Azerbaijan. The human rights activists, polled by the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent, have agreed with the report's estimates, while the authorities refute the DoS' data.

The DoS' report on situation with human rights in Azerbaijan is completely reflecting the reality. This opinion was expressed to the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent by Novella Dzhafaroglu, a well-known Azerbaijani human rights activist.

"The situation in Azerbaijan with human rights remains depressing. The problem of political prisoners persists. The freedom of assembly is seriously restricted. The situation with the freedom of press becomes worse and worse," Ms Dzhafaroglu has explained.

Elchin Bekhbudov, Head of the Committee against Torture, has stated the justness of statement in the DoS' report of facts of torture in jails. "Unfortunately, there are facts of terrible torture in law enforcement bodies. According to our data, last year at least three persons died from torture. Those bold enough address us with their complaints about torture. Most of all, torture is used at police stations during imprisonment before trail," said Mr Bekhbudov.

In their turn, law enforcers are categorically refuting any facts of torture. According to Ekhsan Zakhidov, an employee of the press service of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Azerbaijan, there is not a single fact of application of torture by a policeman.

A similar viewpoint was also stated by Mekhman Sadygov, head of the PR Division of the Penitentiary service of the Ministry of Justice of Azerbaijan. "On the contrary, in recent years, the situation in this sphere in prisons has even improved," Mr Sadygov said to the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent.