Azerbaijan, Baku / Trend corr. К.Zarbaliyeva / The leadership of the Azerbaijani Gobustan closed prison is applying intense pressure on prisoners who launched hunger-strikes, even though their death penalties were changed to life imprisonment sentences. Prisoners have not been receiving medical care despite their health worsening, relatives of the prisoners told Trend Agency on 20 September.
The health of Aydin Rzayev, one of the prisoners who launched 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 the shortage of beds at the centre. No medical care is being provided to Rzayev despite his poor health.
The members of the International Committee of the Red Cross could not meet with the prisoners despite appeals.
Some eighty-four prisoners are detained in Gobustan prison, whose death penalties were changed to sentences of life imprisonment. The prisoners believe that life imprisonment should have been changed to fifteen 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 as corresponding to the European Convention. Life imprisonment is a lighter sentence than the death penalty and cannot be considered a crime.
The Public Relations Department of the Azerbaijani Penal Service denied the information about prison official applying intense pressure on prisoners.