Elgiz Gakhramanov's complaints about torture ignored, his defender asserts

A physician and staff members of the Azerbaijani Ombudsman's Office have twice visited Elgiz Gakhramanov, an activist of the movement "Nida", at the SIZO (pre-trial prison). However, they refused to register the presence of signs of violence on the activist's body. This was reported by the defendant's advocate. According to him, the authorities refuse to investigate the Elgiz Gakhramanov's complaints about inhuman treatment.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that on August 12, Elgiz Gakhramanov, an activist of the opposition movement "Nida" (Outcry), was arrested on the charge of drug trafficking. According to his associates, the prosecution Elgiz Gakhramanov is of nature.

On August 26, at the Baku SIZO, Elgiz Gakhramanov was visited by his second advocate Fariz Namazly. The activist told the advocate that on August 22 and 25, he was visited by staff members of the Azerbaijani Ombudsman's Office accompanied by a physician. However, on August 22, the Ombudsman's Office denied the presence of signs of violence on the Elgiz Gakhramanov's body.

On August 25, a staff member of the Azerbaijani Ombudsman's Office repeatedly visited Elgiz Gakhramanov and told the activist that he saw no signs of violence on his body.

According to the defender, he saw redness on the abdomen, hip and knee of Elgiz Gakhramanov. The advocate has noted that "Elgiz was beaten by a truncheon so severely that he repeatedly lost consciousness and did not remember much."

According to the official version of the investigators, Elgiz Gakhramanov has given a confession, while the activist himself insists that he confessed under torture.

Meanwhile, the activist does not complain about the conditions of detention at the SIZO, the defender has added.

Full text of the article is available on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’.