Zeynalabdin Bagirzade, activist with opposition Azerbaijan Popular Front Party (APFP), is being harassed in prison, Zeynalabdin’s brother, chairman of APFP’s Nakhchivan branch Yashar Bagirsoy has said.
As Yashar Bagirsoy put it, Zeynalabdin Bagirzade, who he believes has been jailed for political reasons, is subjected to pressure in the mixed-regime prison of the Ministry of Justice of Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic located in Boyukduz village. “Prison Chief Gazanfar Mahmudov and one of his deputies constantly threaten APFP activist Bagirzade,” Yashar Bagirsoy said.
Background: Zeynalabdin Bagirzade was arrested on November 17, 2015. He was charged under Article 315.1 (resistance to a representative of authority) of the Criminal Code. However, during the trial, it turned out that the charge brought against him had been reclassified under Article 315.2 (resistance to a representative of authority, with use of violence that is dangerous to life) of the Criminal Code. On February 02, 2016, Babek District Court sentenced Bagirzade to 8 years in jail. Nakhchivan Court of Appeal upheld the judgment on March 30, 2016.