Today, 9 February, in the Sabail District Court, under the chairmanship of Judge Elnur Hasanov, a preliminary hearing took place on the civil case of “Mukhalifat” Newspaper Editor-in-chief Rovshan Kabirli and the newspaper’s Department Editor Yashar Agazade against the Ministry of Justice, Ministry of Justice’s Penitentiary Services and Penitentiary Services’ Investigative Detention Center #1 to “consider detention conditions unfounded”.
The Institute for Reporters’ Freedom and Safety was told this by Yashar Agazade.
“In 2007, when we were imprisoned for five months on the basis of a lawsuit put forth by Jalal Aliyev,” said Agazade. “We were held in Penitentiary Services’ Investigative Detention Center #1 in unacceptable conditions that did not conform to standards and were degrading to our dignity,” said Y. Agazade. “The essence of our lawsuit is about the structure of cells in Prison #1, the holding of more prisoners than there are beds in cells and inferior food ratio. During the hearing, four of our five motions were fulfilled and one was held open. Judge Elnur Hasanov asked the defendant to submit documents regarding the daily food ratio, and scheme, size and structure of the cells, where we had been held, to the court.”
Y. Agazade noted that representatives of the Ministry of Justice’s Penitentiary Services and Penitentiary Services’ Investigative Detention Center #1 participated in the hearing; however, no one represented the Ministry of Justice.
“In 2007, when we were imprisoned for five months on the basis of a lawsuit put forth by Jalal Aliyev,” said Agazade. “We were held in Penitentiary Services’ Investigative Detention Center #1 in unacceptable conditions that did not conform to standards and were degrading to our dignity,” said Y. Agazade. “The essence of our lawsuit is about the structure of cells in Prison #1, the holding of more prisoners than there are beds in cells and inferior food ratio. During the hearing, four of our five motions were fulfilled and one was held open. Judge Elnur Hasanov asked the defendant to submit documents regarding the daily food ratio, and scheme, size and structure of the cells, where we had been held, to the court.”
Y. Agazade noted that representatives of the Ministry of Justice’s Penitentiary Services and Penitentiary Services’ Investigative Detention Center #1 participated in the hearing; however, no one represented the Ministry of Justice.
The next hearing on this case is scheduled to take place on 16 February at 3:30 p.m.