Iqbal Abilov's relatives reported his torture in the pre-trial detention center.

Relatives and the lawyer of the convicted researcher of Talysh culture, Iqbal Abilov, reported that he was subjected to torture in the Baku pre-trial detention center. The reason for the pressure could have been Abilov's appearance in court wearing a Talysh-language t-shirt, his relatives believe.

As reported by "Caucasian Knot", on June 11, the Supreme Court of Azerbaijan upheld the sentence of Talysh culture researcher Iqbal Abilov. The court's refusal to provide a translator from Talysh, as well as the prosecution itself, was called discrimination against Talysh people by Abilov. The defense intends to file a complaint with the European Court of Human Rights.

Iqbal Abilov was tortured in Baku pre-trial detention center No. 1, his father Shahib Abilov told a correspondent of “Caucasian Knot”. According to the father, information about the torture became known today during the court session, and on July 9, he was denied a visit with Iqbal without explanation.

“We presented documents, after which we were kept waiting for an hour in anxiety. Then, without any explanation, they returned our documents, did not accept our package for Iqbal. We were told that Iqbal was transferred to 'another place' and were instructed to come back next week,” Shahib Abilov said.

The researcher’s lawyer, Fariz Namazly, was also denied a meeting. The defense was informed that Abilov was placed in a punishment cell, but no reasons were given.

Today, the Garadagh District Court considered Iqbal Abilov's complaint filed under judicial supervision. During the session, it became known that he had been subjected to torture.

“It turned out that force was used against Iqbal: he was handcuffed and tied to an iron bed and kept in that position for hours, subjected to physical and moral torture, beaten. All this occurred under the supervision of the deputy head of the detention center, Javid Gyulaliyev,” Abilov's father reported, according to the lawyers. The process was held in closed session, and the researcher’s relatives were not allowed to attend.

According to the father, the reason for such treatment of Iqbal Abilov was that on July 7, he appeared in Yasamal District Court wearing a t-shirt with a couplet in Talysh from a poem by poet Ali Nasir: "When a people loses its reason, it condemns its homeland to death."

The complaint considered today in the Garadagh court concerned the forced X-ray examination of Abilov during his detention in IU-14. As noted by Shahib Abilov, the researcher was repeatedly forced to undergo X-ray examinations at the direction of the deputy head of the colony, Ramin Akperov, although there was no medical necessity for this. The court refused to satisfy the complaint regarding the actions of the deputy head of the colony, and an appeal will be filed against this decision, added Iqbal Abilov's father.

The actions against Abilov, described by the lawyers and father, contain direct signs of violation of Article 3 of the European Convention on Human Rights, which absolutely prohibits torture and inhumane treatment, noted an independent legal expert.

“Torture is always the intentional infliction of severe pain for a specific purpose. In this case, it may involve beating and hours of being tied in handcuffs to an iron bed, presumably in response to the convicted person's appearance in court wearing a t-shirt with a politically contextual inscription. Essentially, this is about physical punishment and simultaneously intimidation. In addition, systematic coercion to undergo X-rays without medical indications can be seen as psychological pressure and degrading treatment aimed at exhausting a person. In the described cases, there are signs of violation of Article 3 of the Convention, which prohibits torture. In the future, a person may file a complaint with the ECHR,” said a lawyer who wished to remain unnamed to a correspondent of “Caucasian Knot”.

It was not possible to obtain comments from the Penitentiary Service for “Caucasian Knot”.

“Caucasian Knot” also reported that threats and humiliating treatment by the deputy head of Baku pre-trial detention center No. 1, Javid Gyulaliyev, were complained about by arrested journalists from Meydan TV.