Azerbaijan: Allegations of ill-treatment in detention

Azerbaijan: Allegations of ill-treatment in detention

Comments:
Amnesty International continues to receive allegations of ill-treatment of detainees by Azerbaijani law enforcement officials. In some cases it has been alleged that prisoners have been beaten in pre-trial detention in order to obtain confessions, and that family members of suspects in hiding have been beaten in an attempt to obtain information on their relatives' whereabouts. In other cases it has been alleged that prisoners in ill-health have not received adequate medical treatment, and that at least two people died as a result of this over the last year. General conditions for many in pre-trial detention are also reported to be harsh, with overcrowding so severe in some prisons that inmates are forced to take it in turns to sleep while others in the cell stand. Restricted access by independent observers makes verification of these allegations difficult, and Amnesty International has had no response to its concerns about ill-treatment which have been raised on a number of occasions with the Azerbaijani authorities. Cases illustrating Amnesty International's concerns are detailed in this paper. They relate to political prisoners, although Amnesty International is also concerned about other more general allegations about ill-treatment of criminal prisoners.

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