Najmin Kamil, the son of the imprisoned human rights lawyer Intigam Aliyev, talked about his father’s prison conditions on November 23.
Najmin said that it is impossible for a person with his father’s medical issues to stay healthy in closed prison conditions, but that Intigam Aliyev remains strong nonetheless.
“My father’s health is increasingly deteriorating. He urgently required a medical examination and treatment, which is impossible in prison. My father had problems when moving to Prison #6 and some of them have not gone away. He is unable to continue his work in prison and is therefore very concerned.”
Najmin Kamil said that of anyone in Azerbaijan is intolerable, not just his father.
He believes that Azerbaijan is suffering more than his family as a consequence of his father’s arrest, because Intigam Aliyev tirelessly defended the rights of people, trained a new generation of lawyers and raised domestic human rights violations at the international level. Najmin Kamil thanked all those who are supporting his father.
Background: Intigam Aliyev was arrested on 8 August 2014. He was sentenced to 7.5 years in prison by Baku Grave Crimes Court, on charges of tax evasion, illegal entrepreneurship, misappropriation, service forgery and abuse of official powers. The Court of Appeal upheld his sentence. The human rights defender rejects all the charges as politically motivated. Amnesty International has recognized Intigam Aliyev as a prisoner of conscience.