Azerbaijan: arrested theologian Talekh Bagirzade placed in dungeon, his lawyer asserts

The theologian Talekh Bagirzade, who is kept in the SIZO (pre-trial prison), located in the Baku suburb of Kyurdakhany, was put into a dungeon for five days.

It happened on May 28 and was associated with the detainee's open appeal, disseminated by mass media on May 27, addressed to leaders of foreign states and urging them to be "objective in assessing the situation in Azerbaijan," Dzhavad Dzhavadly, a Bagirzade's advocate, said at a press conference on May 31 in the office of the Institute for Reporters Freedom and Safety (IRFS).

The appeal tells about the prosecution "in Azerbaijan, on trumped-up charges related to drugs, hooliganism and possession of weapons, of journalists, political activists, believers and all other dissidents for their expressions and thoughts."

The lawyer Dzhavadly has noted that after the appeal was spread by the media, on May 28, Bagirzade's hands were roped; and he was taken to the office of the SIZO boss, where he was subjected to physical pressure. The lawyer has treated it as a violation of the freedom of expression and inhuman treatment, and announced his intention to file a complaint to the court against the top managers of the SIZO.

The lawyer has reminded that immediately after detention Bagirzade was also beaten at the police; however, his complaints against "torture and inhuman treatment" were never considered. Meanwhile, the Islamic Party of Azerbaijan (IPA) made a statement condemning Bagirzade's arrest. The human rights organization DEVAM (Centre for Protection of the Freedom of Conscience and Faith) has also condemned the arrest of the theologian.