Polad Aslanov's wife was denied a meeting with him.
The wife of Azerbaijani journalist Polad Aslanov, who is on hunger strike in detention, was denied a personal meeting with her husband. Aslanov himself reported by phone that he was beaten in the colony.
As reported by "Caucasian Knot", on October 8, the convicted editor-in-chief of the online publications Xeberman.com and Press-az.com, Polad Aslanov, announced a hunger strike in colony No. 15 in protest against the violation of the rights of schoolgirls, including his daughter, and teachers wearing hijabs. He believes that the dress code restrictions violate Article 48 of the Constitution of Azerbaijan, which guarantees freedom of conscience. On October 20, Aslanov was hospitalized in a medical facility of the Penitentiary Service, but there he does not receive medical assistance, his wife stated. By October 26, Aslanov's weight had dropped to 43 kg, and the doctor warned him of the risk of coma.
Since October 12, school leaders in Azerbaijan have not allowed teachers and schoolgirls who refused to remove their hijabs to attend classes. Around several schools in Baku, students and teachers held lessons in the street in protest. On October 13, the Ministry of Internal Affairs reported the detention of 37 participants in the protests, while activists claimed that more than 200 were detained. Aslanov's 13-year-old daughter refused to comply with the ban on wearing hijabs in school despite pressure from teachers, and law enforcement threatened her mother with imprisonment for supporting protests against the school dress code.
The journalist's wife, Gyulmira Aslanova, today managed to meet with the new head of the Penitentiary Service of the Ministry of Justice of Azerbaijan, Sahib Rzaev, who was appointed to this position by the president the day before, on October 28. The deputy head of the Penitentiary Service, Fikret Gafarov, was also present at the meeting.
The meeting took place after her daily calls to the Penitentiary Service demanding a meeting with her husband due to his hunger strike, Aslanova told a correspondent of the "Caucasian Knot".
"During the meeting, I informed Sahib Rzaev that my husband, journalist and political prisoner Polad Aslanov, has been on hunger strike since October 12 in protest against the illegal ban on wearing hijabs in schools in the country. On the day the hunger strike began, he was placed in a punishment cell of correctional institution No. 15, where he was serving his sentence. On October 15, he was transferred to a medical facility, but he is still being held in the punishment cell. I expressed my concern about his health and asked to provide us with the opportunity to meet with him," the woman said.
Rzaev stated that a meeting with her husband would not be granted, but he informed her that instead, Polad Aslanov would be allowed to call home.
"About an hour later, Polad called home and spoke with our daughter. The child, in tears, persistently asked her father to end the hunger strike, but we could not convince Polad to stop the action. Polad detailed how he was beaten on October 12 in the office of the head of correctional institution No. 15, Ramig Nasibov, after which he was placed in a punishment cell. According to him, the beating involved the head of the institution himself and an employee named Teymur. This new employee of the colony twisted his arms behind his back and threw him to the floor, while the head Ramig Nasibov beat him," Aslanova claims.
She emphasized that Polad Aslanov categorically refused to stop the hunger strike, stating that he intends to continue fighting against the restrictions on wearing hijabs in schools in this way. Meanwhile, the journalist's condition, according to her, is getting "worse and worse."
"In recent days, Polad has been under medical supervision. He has low blood pressure, and his blood sugar is also below normal. He is losing weight: the day before, he was weighed while wearing warm, thick clothing, and taking that into account, his weight was 42.3 kg, although before the hunger strike, Polad weighed 52 kg. Polad is very weak. He spoke in a quiet voice, and he could barely be heard," Gyulmira Aslanova said.
According to the journalist, two other believers, Zeynal Bayramov and Fuad Alekserov, continue their hunger strike in the medical facility of the Penitentiary Service. "Bayramov was transferred along with Polad from IU-15, and Alekserov from colony No. 11. Currently, they are all being held in isolation from each other in a punishment cell," Aslanova noted.
The woman added that her 13-year-old daughter is still not allowed to attend school in a hijab. "My child is experiencing a double psychological blow: on one hand, she suffers from the injustice of the hijab ban and being removed from classes, and on the other, she worries about her father, with whom she has been separated for eight years due to a fabricated criminal case," Aslanova noted.
It was not possible to obtain comments from the Penitentiary Service of Azerbaijan for the "Caucasian Knot."