Azerbaijan, Baku / Trend corr. К.Zarbaliyeva / The health of Aydin Rzayev, one of the prisoners who launched on a hunger strike in the Gobustan closed prison, became worse, the relatives of the prisoner said. The prisoners demanded that Rzayev be taken to hospital. However, the Chief of the prison, Alizadeh Huseynov refused due to shortage of beds at the centre. No medical care is being provided to Rzayev despite his poor health.
Close relatives of prisoners provided the names of the prisoners who joined in the hunger strike, namely Shafi Gurbanov, Azar Abishev, Baba Babayev, Nuraga Seidov and Jeyhun Garibov, whose death penalty was changed to life imprisonment. Twenty-one prisoners, whose death penalties were commuted to life imprisonment, began the hunger strike.
One of the prisoners, Rauf Eyvazov, stitched up his mouth to protest against false information from the Penal Service about the suspension of the hunger strike. Rauf's sister is anxious about the state of her brother's health.
The following prisoners originally began the hunger strike, Chingiz Pashayev, Bakhtiyar Jafarov, Rauf Eyvazov, Shakir Rzakhanov, Safa Poladov, Yalchin Rzayev, Ildirim Orujov, Ismayil Aliyev, Aydin Rzayev, Gurban Mammadov, Arif Kazimov, Ali Mammadov, Mahir Ismaylov, Rahib Masimov and Ilyas Ismaylov.
The relatives of the prisoner have complained of the lack of medical care in the prison.
Mehman Sadikhov, the chief of the Central Department of the Penal Service, said that four prisoners, Chingiz Pashayev, Shakir Rzakhanov, Yalchin Rzayev, Aydin Rzayev are still continuing with their hunger strike.
Some 84 prisoners are detained in Gobustan closed prison whose death penalties were changed to life imprisonment. The prisoners believe that life imprisonment should have been changed to15 years after the abolishment of the death penalty.
The European Court on Human Rights' regulation on Alikram Humbatov's lawsuit considers the change of the death penalty to a life-term imprisonment corresponds to European Convention. Life imprisonment is a lighter sentence than the death penalty and cannot be considered a grave crime