The court in Baku has tightened the conditions of detention for activist Nijat Ibrahim.
The Baku court has tightened the conditions of detention for activist Nijat Ibrahim, ruling to transfer him to a closed-type prison for six months. The prison administration accused the activist of violating internal regulations. Ibrahim considers the decision another manifestation of pressure on the activist.
As reported by "Caucasian Knot", in July 2025, the court in Baku sentenced activist Nijat Ibrahim to 6.5 years of imprisonment. He did not plead guilty, and the defense appealed the verdict. On October 6, 2025, the appellate court upheld the sentence. In July, it became known that the administration of the correctional facility is seeking to tighten the conditions of detention for Nijat Ibrahim.
On September 6, 2024, border guards did not allow critic of the authorities Nijat Ibrahim to leave Azerbaijan, citing a police ban. After publicly criticizing the police for the unjustified exit ban, Ibrahim faced criminal prosecution: he was charged with intentionally causing serious harm to health in a dangerous manner out of hooligan motives and hooliganism with the use of weapons, these articles provide for up to 11 years of imprisonment. Ibrahim rejects all charges and believes he is being persecuted for criticizing the authorities. The body of the victim, who claims that Nijat Ibrahim stabbed him several times, shows no signs of wounds.
On August 5, a hearing was held in the Narimanov District Court of Baku regarding the request of the administration of Correctional Institution N10 to tighten the punishment regime for activist Nijat Ibrahim.
As reported to the correspondent of the "Caucasian Knot" by the activist's wife, Parvin Ibrahimova, the prison administration requested to transfer her husband to a closed-type prison for three years allegedly because the convict "repeatedly violated internal regulations and instigated fights" in IU-10.
However, Judge Gultekin Asadova ruled to send Ibrahim to a closed-type prison for 6 months. "This decision is a continuation of the pressure and persecution of my husband that has been ongoing for many years. He is not even allowed to serve his unlawfully assigned term peacefully. Other inmates are incited against Nijat, fights are arranged with him, and then reports are drawn up about my husband's violations. Long before the request was sent to court, Nijat was placed in a punishment cell and kept there for a long time," said the activist's wife.
On July 1, the activist's wife, Parvin Ibrahim, stated that the activist had not been in contact with his family for more than 25 days. The defense managed to confirm the transfer of the activist to the punishment cell, but the Penitentiary Service of Azerbaijan did not clarify the reasons for the punishment. The activist's defender, Nijat Ibrahim, managed to meet with him in the colony 26 days after he stopped contacting his family. Ibrahim stated that he did not violate the rules and does not know the reasons for his placement in the punishment cell.
Lawyer Zibeyda Sadigova reported that an appeal will be filed against the decision of the Narimanov court to tighten the punishment regime for Ibrahim.
The head of the Center for Monitoring Political Prisoners, human rights activist Elshan Gasanov, spoke about the conditions of detention in a closed-type prison. "In general or strict regime colonies, convicts can move freely around the facility and are housed in large common rooms. In strict regime conditions, prisoners are allowed visits from family members once a month, and in general regime - once a week. In a closed-type prison, the rules are stricter. Prisoners are kept in cramped cells. They are allowed four short visits and two long visits per year. Each day, they are allowed to walk for only one hour," said the human rights activist.
According to him, detention in a closed-type prison is considered the most severe form of serving a sentence. "This regime is intended for those sentenced to life imprisonment. Additionally, when sentencing individuals who have committed particularly serious crimes, by court decision, they also spend a certain part of their sentence in a closed-type prison," noted human rights activist Gasanov.
An employee of the Narimanov District Court confirmed the information about the tightening of the punishment regime for Ibrahim.