Bayil Prison #1 Chief Misir Aliyev has responded to an appeal inquiring about the fate writing composed in Bayil Prison by “Azadlig” Newspaper Chief Editor Ganimet Zahid. According to “Azadlig” Newspaper Director Azer Ahmedov, “In the letter it is stated that Zahid’s writings have been given to the head of the Penitentiary Service.
Therefore, we were told to appeal to the Justice Ministry’s Penitentiary Service about this.” Ahmedov added they have already in fact appealed to the Penitentiary Service, but received no response.
Recall that while G. Zahid was in Bayil Prison he began to write by hand a book about the modern history of Azerbaijan. However the writing was taken from Zahid, by Prison chief Misir Aliyev, who claimed he wanted to read the book, and never returned. Later it was alleged that Zahid wrote things against Ilham and Heydar Aliyev in the book, and it was therefore given to the Justice Ministry’s Chief Department for the Execution of Court Decisions.
On 22 May 2008, Zahid was transferred from Bayil Prison to Prison #17, to serve his four year prison sentence for hooliganism and hooliganism with infliction of minor bodily harm. The charges against Zahid are internationally recognized as spurious.