Court dismisses Farid Mekhralizade’s complaint about inhuman treatment

A court dismissed a complaint filed by journalist and economist Farid Mekhralizade, arrested in the “Abzas Media” case, about a refusal of the prosecutor’s office to recognize the fact of inhuman treatment during the detention. The defence intends to lodge an appeal against the court’s decision.

On November 5, 2024, Ulvi Gasanli, the arrested director of the “Abzas Media”, claimed that the publication’s employees faced pressure for making public the information about torture and corruption in places of detention. On January 23, Sevindj Vagifgyzy, the editor-in-chief of the “Abzas Media”, complained that she faced physical violence and discrimination from warders at a detention facility.

On January 28, the Sabail District Court of Baku considered the Farid Mekhralizade’s complaint about the refusal of the prosecutor’s office to recognize the fact of inhuman treatment and bring those responsible to justice, stated Nargiz Mukhtarova, a spouse of Farid Mekhralizade.

“He was in fact kidnapped. They put a plastic bag over the Farid’s head, handcuffed him, forced him into a car, and were beating him along the way ... Then they took him to the police chief department and only there did they remove the plastic bag from his head. We complained about the law enforcers’ actions to the prosecutor’s office,” Nargiz Mukhtarova said.

Advocate Djavad Djavadov emphasized that the police actions during the detention were unlawful. “There was no need for violent actions against Farid Mekhralizade. He was not armed, did not render any resistance, had no previous criminal record, and did not evade reporting to the police,” Djavad Djavadov emphasized.

According to the advocate’s version, the Farid Mekhralizade’s case contains violations of Article 3 (prohibition of torture and inhuman treatment) of the European Convention on Human Rights.