Yakhyaev's family demanded that he be examined and treated in prison.

The sister of Agali Yakhyaev, a board member of the Muslim Unity religious movement serving a prison sentence at maximum-security correctional facility No. 8, complained about the lack of effective medical care for her brother and other inmates and demanded treatment.

As reported by the Caucasian Knot, Agali Yakhyaev, a board member of the Muslim Unity religious movement, was arrested in September 2023 on charges of large-scale drug trafficking. The court rejected the appeal against the arrest.

"My brother has an intensive process of fatty liver disease, but he is deprived of even minimal medical care. In this colony, my brother and other prisoners suffering from serious illnesses are denied the opportunity to undergo MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) and ultrasound (ultrasound) examinations. Instrumental examinations are a thing of the past... Even a dentist exists only formally. Medications are dispensed haphazardly. There are no medical records, and treatment is not recorded, so that no one can be held accountable for the deterioration of a sick prisoner's condition or death. "Keeping people in such conditions without treatment is condemning them to a slow death," Elnara Eldar told a "Caucasian Knot" correspondent. According to her, there are risks of both infectious diseases and threats to the physical safety of prisoners in Penal Colony No. 8. According to Elnara Eldar, her brother is being held in the same cell with an HIV-infected inmate. Yes, this disease isn't transmitted through normal physical contact. What if it were transmitted through blood? But shouldn't the inmates have at least been warned that this person is seriously ill? Test results aren't disclosed to patients, so the HIV-infected person didn't even know about their illness at first. When he found out later, he was very depressed. And this had a depressing effect on the other inmates as well. Recently, there was an incident in my brother's cell. A mentally ill inmate poured hot water on his cellmates. "By a lucky chance, no one was seriously injured," said Elnara Eldar.

She noted that despite repeated appeals, the Penitentiary Service leadership has taken no action to improve Yakhyaev's conditions, examination, or treatment.

"My brother has been a political prisoner for 13 years now. He was convicted three times on false charges. “My brother was once again convicted of an act he did not commit,” said the prisoner’s sister.

On behalf of the Yakhyaev family, Elnara Eldar appealed to the Penitentiary Service leadership via social media, demanding that measures be taken to improve the conditions of detention of prisoners and their treatment.

“We, the family of Agali Yakhyaev, are seriously concerned about the life and health of our loved one. Fundamental reforms are needed in the system. Are these people (prisoners) isolated from society - or sentenced to death? Don’t kill! Don’t kill my brother!!!,” she wrote on her Facebook page*.

 A Baku human rights activist, who himself served a prison sentence in the past, spoke to a “Caucasian Knot” correspondent on condition of anonymity about the low level of medical care for prisoners.

 “Upon admission to A pretrial detention center or penal colony is given a formal examination. If a prisoner is chronically ill, they rely primarily on medication sent from home. Are prisoners sent to the medical center or prison hospital only when they are already in a very poor condition? It is a common practice to provide beds in the medical center and hospitals to so-called "bourgeois" for a fee. Only those with tuberculosis are immediately sent to a specialized clinic," said an activist on condition of anonymity.

The penitentiary service could not be reached for comment.

Human rights activists have recognized Yakhyaev as a political prisoner.

As a reminder, Agali Yakhyaev was sentenced to 15 years in prison in the Nardaran case. However, in March 2021, he was released early in accordance with a presidential pardon.

In May 2022, the court sentenced Yakhyaev to 30 days in jail after finding him guilty of hooliganism and disobeying police at a rally in support of another Muslim Unity activist.

Agali Yakhyaev was detained during a march in February 2010 and sentenced to 4.5 years in prison for resisting government officials and hooliganism.