Sevinj Vagifqizi said that the prisoners were threatened in the Pre-trial Detention Center
Abzas Media editor-in-chief Sevinj Vagifqizi, detained in Baku Detention Center No. 1, told his mother by phone yesterday that he was a witness of guards threatening two female prisoners and then putting them in solitary confinement.
According to Vagifgizy, the prisoners were kept in the cell handcuffed for three hours. The journalist noted that this was done by the order of the deputy chiefs of the detention center. In addition, the supervisor named Mahir threatened to drag his daughters by the hair if they complained about the staff of the detention center. At this moment, the phone conversation was interrupted.
The journalist’s mother, Ofeliya Maharramova, is worried that her daughter will also be pressured due to the disclosure of the facts of violence against the prisoners in the Pretrial Detention Center.
However, the Penitentiary Service denied the information that the two female prisoners were put in the penalty cell and were ill-treated. “Not only in the last days, but also during the last 1 year, the facts of transferring the women to the punishment room for violation of the regime rules were not recorded. The personal safety of the persons detained in the Baku Pretrial Detention Center is ensured, their rights and legal interests are protected, they are not subjected to pressure, torture and inhumane treatment by the staff and other detainees. Such cases were not recorded during the sudden inspections and monitoring conducted by local and international law enforcement organizations,” said the response of the Penitentiary Service to the inquiry.