On December 23 the Baku Appellate Court denied the journalist and human rights defender Parviz Hashimli’s appeal against the denial of his request for transference from the remand center of the Ministry of National Security (MNS) to the pretrial detention facility “Baku” by the Sabail district court on December 13. The appeal was mainly about the tortures and inhuman treatments Hashimli had been subjected during detention in MNS. The journalist’s lawyer Elchin Sadigov told IRFS that while in the Appellate Court Hashimli reported that he had been placed in the punishment cell.
“The reason for his placement in the punishment cell was the expression ‘MNS violates the law’ while he was brought to Sabail district court in December 13. According to Parviz, he was stripped naked and placed in the cell, and his clothes were returned after he had protested in a loud voice for several hours. While in the cell, he refused to accept the meal served to him. A doctor was called when he eventually fainted after being held there for a day and he was taken out of the cell. Before being moved to the punishment cell, Hashimli was told that he would see the real torture after talking that much about being tortured. In addition, Hashimli told the court that he is not allowed to meet his family or talk to them on the phone,” said the lawyer.
Elchin Sadigov added that his notes about the tortures taken at a meeting with Parviz Hashimli were taken from him and not returned.
The lawyer added that he has sent a request to the Ministry of National Security demanding the notes and after the document is retrieved an appeal will be made to the court.
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, and a criminal case was opened against him 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). On September 18 the journalist was handed down a two-month pretrial detention sentence by the Sabail District Court. His detention term was extended for another three months on November 7.