Criminal case denied on Azerbaijani sergeant's torture by police

Takhir Osmanly, a soldier of the Azerbaijani Army, asserts that two policemen had severely beaten him up. However, the country's Ministry of Internal Affairs (MIA) has stated that they found no evidence of this fact; and the Prosecutor's Office refused to open a criminal case, Elchin Mamed, the head of the organization "Legal Education of Sumgait Youth", said today.

According to his story, in August, Takhir Osmanly was taken from his military unit by policemen of the Yevlakh District of Azerbaijan and brought to the police station. As it turned out, Osmanly's neighbour in the rented apartment, also a soldier, wrote an application, accusing Takhir of stealing 1650 manats (947 US dollars) from him.

Elchin Mamed said, referring to Osmanly, that he refused to plead guilty; then two policemen began beating him up. Osmanly received serious bodily injuries; his ribs were broken.

The Osmanly's family received answers to their applications from the District Prosecutor's Office and the MIA, stating that the conducted check failed to confirm that the Osmanly had been tortured at the police, and refusing to open a criminal case. The family is preparing a complaint against these decisions, Elchin Mamed said as quoted by the "Contact.az".

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