Yesterday arrested journalist of Bizim Yol newspaper and editor of moderator.az website, Parviz Hashimli lost consciousness in prison, his lawyer Bahruz Bayramov told IRFS today, on November 6th.
According to the lawyer, the journalist passed out due to low blood pressure and recovered consciousness after medical aid.
“The reason of this is the difficult prison conditions and the stress that Parviz suffers from as a result. He is still not allowed to meet his family and is held in isolation. He is provided with only state newspapers Azerbaijan and Xalq (The People)” said the lawyer.
Note that the journalist’s family members have met with ombudswoman Elmira Suleymanova. According to journalist’s father Kamran Hashimov, they were informed about his son’s prison conditions, but the ombudswoman’s representatives told them that they are not authorized to interfere with the issue of replacing the journalist’s detention place, as the investigation is ongoing.
“Maybe the Ministry of National Security deliberately makes his cell stuffy. Maybe they add some medication into his food. By keeping Parviz there, they can do anything they like to him. If anything happens to my son, the Ministry of National Security and the prosecutor’s office will be accountable” said the journalist’s father.
Referring to the prosecutor’s allegation that Parviz Hashimli smuggled weapons across Iranian border, Kamran Hashimov said he has sent a letter to Iranian president, asking to investigate if illegal border crossing involving the journalist really happened.
Background: Bizim Yol newspaper journalist and moderator.az editor-in-chief Parviz Hashimli was detained on September 17 by employees of the Ministry of National Security. OnSeptember 18 the journalist was handed down a two-month pretrial detention sentence by the Sabail District Court under two articles of the Azerbaijani Criminal Code: Article 206.3.2 (smuggling of firearms on preliminary arrangement by an organized group) and 228.2.1 (illegal obtaining, storing, carrying firearms and their spare parts on preliminary arrangement by an organized group).