{"id":30802,"date":"2025-06-03T16:22:56","date_gmt":"2025-06-03T16:22:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.irfs.org\/?p=30802"},"modified":"2025-06-03T16:22:56","modified_gmt":"2025-06-03T16:22:56","slug":"conditions-and-alleged-mismanagement-at-baku-pretrial-detention-facility-as-exposed-by-political-prisoner-ali-zeynal","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.irfs.org\/az\/news-feed\/conditions-and-alleged-mismanagement-at-baku-pretrial-detention-facility-as-exposed-by-political-prisoner-ali-zeynal\/","title":{"rendered":"Conditions and Alleged Mismanagement at Baku Pretrial Detention Facility, as Exposed by Political Prisoner Ali Zeynal"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Ali Zeynal, an employee of the Institute for Democratic Initiatives who is currently detained in connection with the \u201cToplum TV case,\u201d has published an open letter addressed to Minister of Justice Farid Ahmadov. The letter, released by Toplum TV<\/em>, provides a detailed critique of the conditions inside the Baku Pretrial Detention Facility and accuses its administration of mismanagement and staged inspections.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ali Zeynal, widely recognized as a political prisoner, was arrested during the investigation into \u201cToplum TV\u201d activities. Zeynal worked previously at the Institute for Democratic Initiatives and had once been a student of Farid Ahmadov when Ahmadov served as a university rector. In his letter, Zeynal recalls their earlier relationship and contrasts it with his current treatment under Ahmadov\u2019s tenure as Justice Minister.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Failed Attempts to Raise Concerns<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Zeynal writes that he tried repeatedly to bring problems to the attention of the facility\u2019s leadership:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

\u201cAlthough I tried repeatedly to reach out to the head of the Baku Pretrial Detention Facility, Justice Colonel Elnur Ismayilov, or his deputies, there was no interest shown. However, whenever there was a fabricated complaint or petition against me, the administration immediately found the time to summon me.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

According to Zeynal, the warden and his deputies never responded to his requests to discuss the appalling conditions\u2014yet they manage to schedule themselves to issue orders to send him to a disciplinary facility without delay.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Alleged Fabricated Complaint by Convoy Officers<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Zeynal also describes an incident during his transfer:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

\u201cAfter your 7\u20138-person convoy dragged me around with my hands in handcuffs, they filed a complaint alleging that I somehow managed to beat them up singlehandedly in that state. No one has shown me the complaint\u2014I haven\u2019t read it. But \u2018according to what I\u2019ve been told,\u2019 that\u2019s more or less what it said.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

He emphasizes that, to this day, he has neither seen nor been allowed to review that complaint.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Staged \u201cInspection\u201d of the Facility<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

One of Zeynal\u2019s most serious accusations concerns the way the Ministry of Justice conducted its last inspection of the detention facility. He claims that a commission arrived to inspect only the cells that had been prepared weeks in advance:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

\u201cPreparations in Cell 12 of Block II began one or two months before this so-called \u2018honorable inspection\u2019 arrived. Renovations were done, new cabinets were brought in, potted plants were placed, and scenic pictures of mountains, tea, and natural landscapes were hung on the walls. It turns out the locations the \u2018inspection\u2019 was going to inspect had been known\u2014even months in advance!\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

According to Zeynal, this elaborate staging was meant to conceal the true state of the facility from Ministry officials.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Conditions in Neighboring Cell<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Zeynal contrasts Cell 12 with the horror of Cell 19, which sits directly across the corridor:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

\u201cIf they had taken even one or two minutes to step into Cell 19, I would\u2019ve gladly shown them our personal belongings, clothes, and food contaminated by sewage. And if no one was too squeamish, I\u2019d have shown them the giant cockroaches, too.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

He adds that he refrained from describing the rats emerging from beneath the floor and from clogged sewer pipes only because he did not wish to traumatize the inspectors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Closing Appeal to Minister Ahmadov<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Addressing Minister Farid Ahmadov directly, Zeynal reminds him of their past connection and challenges him to scrutinize those conducting the inspections:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

\u201cMy former rector, Farid Ahmadov\u2014don\u2019t take it personally, but I must say this to you:
\u2018Inspect your inspection. The people doing the inspecting need to be inspected themselves.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

He ends with a brief farewell: \u201cTake care of yourself, stay well\u2026 Zeynalov Ali Kamil oglu, Political Prisoner.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Current Status and Lack of Official Response<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

As of now, neither the Ministry of Justice nor the administration of the Baku Pretrial Detention Facility has issued any response to Zeynal\u2019s allegations. His letter stands as one of the few firsthand accounts from inside the facility, shedding light on both the daily hardships faced by detainees and the perceived manipulation of official oversight.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Ali Zeynal, an employee of the Institute for Democratic Initiatives who is currently detained in connection with the \u201cToplum TV case,\u201d has published an open letter addressed to Minister of Justice Farid Ahmadov. The letter, released by Toplum TV, provides a detailed critique of the conditions inside the Baku Pretrial Detention Facility and accuses its […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":30803,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-30802","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news-feed"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.irfs.org\/az\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30802","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.irfs.org\/az\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.irfs.org\/az\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.irfs.org\/az\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.irfs.org\/az\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=30802"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.irfs.org\/az\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30802\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":30804,"href":"https:\/\/www.irfs.org\/az\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30802\/revisions\/30804"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.irfs.org\/az\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/30803"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.irfs.org\/az\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=30802"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.irfs.org\/az\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=30802"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.irfs.org\/az\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=30802"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}