Polad Aslanov’s spouse reports about provocations against him in penal colony

Polad Aslanov, a convicted Azerbaijani journalist, faces new provocations in a penal colony, while the penitentiary service impedes the investigation of his beating on March 31, a spouse of the convicted journalist says.

The “Caucasian Knot” has reported that on January 6, Polad Aslanov went on a hunger strike with the demand to reconsider his case. On the 20th day of his protest action, the journalist stopped it due to the strong recommendation of the doctors. On February 24, the Supreme Court (SC) of Azerbaijan partially granted the journalist’s complaint and reduced his sentence from 16 to 13 years of imprisonment. On April 1, the spouse of Polad Aslanov found signs of the use of violence on his face. On April 8, the woman held an action in Baku to protest against the beating of her husband in the penal colony.

Gyulmira Aslanova states that her husband called her and told her about new provocations against him.

“A cellmate who hit him 20 days ago insults him again, trying to morally terrorize Polad or provoke him into retaliatory actions so that there is a reason for punishing my husband,” Gyulmira Aslanova noted.

The woman believes that the prisoner serves for the prison administration. Gyulmira Aslanova insists on a speedy investigation into the attack on her husband.

According to Elshan Gasanov, the head of the Centre for Monitoring Political Prisoners, there is a practice in the Azerbaijani penitentiary system of using prisoners against convicts who are undesirable persons for the authorities. Elshan Gasanov notes that the state is responsible for the health and life of prisoners.