NIDA Civic Movement member Elgiz Gahramanov, who is held in Baku Detention Centre, is not allowed to meet with his parents, the youth activist’s family members have said. They were told at Baku Detention Centre that a meeting was impossible without the investigator’s written permission. Elgiz Gahramanov was detained together with his friend by plainclothesmen at noon on August 12. His friend was released several hours later, but the activist himself was not freed. His family members at first decided to wait and not to publicise the issue immediately, but having contacted the 102 hotline of the Ministry of Internal Affairs they were unable to obtain information. After the issue was made public on August 15, it emerged that Elgiz Gahramanov was charged under Article 234.4.3 (illegal purchase or storage with a view of selling, manufacturing, processing, transportation, transfer or selling of narcotics or psychotropic substances at a large amount) of the Criminal Code and had been ordered detained for 4 months by Narimanov District Court’s decision of 13 August 2016.
According to Clause 19.1 of the Cabinet of Ministers Decision No. 063 dated 26 February 2014, the permission for meeting is given by the chief of the detention facility: “The arrested persons and the persons who have come to the meeting shall be provided with application forms by the management of the facility.” According to Clause 19.14 of the same Decision, the arrested person’s right to meet with people other than his defence counsel may be restricted for a certain period by a reasoned decision of the prosecuting authority in order to prevent planned crimes and to ensure the criminal prosecution and the safety of people, or of the management of detention facility in order to ensure the regime in the detention facility. When such a decision is adopted, the detained or arrested person enjoys this right only with the written consent of the body which has adopted the relevant decision.