Relatives reported pressure on the convicted Azerbaijani activist.
The convicted religious activist Yaver Ismailzade in Azerbaijan has declared a hunger strike in protest against the exclusion of schoolgirls wearing hijabs from classes. According to relatives, security forces are beating Ismailzade and threatening him, demanding that he stop the protest.
As reported by "Caucasian Knot", by October 30, mass protests against the ban on wearing hijabs in schools had ceased in Azerbaijan, however, discontent is expressed in the form of individual actions near school buildings. According to activists and human rights defenders, participants in the protests and their relatives face detentions, police summons, and other forms of pressure.
Since October 12, teachers and female students who refused to remove hijabs have been barred from classes in Azerbaijani schools. Around several schools in Baku, students and teachers held lessons outside in protest. On October 13, the Ministry of Internal Affairs reported the detention of 37 protest participants, while activists counted more than 200 detained. The protests are a continuation of a long-standing dispute over religious clothing in schools, as noted in the report by "Caucasian Knot" "Protests over school dress code in Azerbaijan".
Member of the "Muslim Unity" movement Yaver Ismailzade, held in correctional facility No. 1, has been on a hunger strike since October 14 in protest against the exclusion of schoolgirls wearing hijabs from classes.
According to his relatives, on the first day of the hunger strike, the prisoner was placed in a punishment cell, and then he was repeatedly pressured to stop the hunger strike, Meydan TV reported last night on its website.
Yaver Ismailzade has reportedly been threatened with transfer to a stricter prison "Umbaki" and an extension of his sentence if he does not stop the protest action.
Moreover, in recent days, Ismailzade has been subjected to physical violence twice, after which he inflicted bodily harm on himself both times.
The first incident reportedly occurred about a week ago, and the second on October 30, when Yaver Ismailzade was beaten again for refusing to stop the hunger strike. According to a source, in protest against this violence, Yaver inflicted serious injuries on himself, the publication writes.
There is no official information about where Yaver Ismailzade is currently held, what medical assistance he is receiving, and what his health condition is. Information about the beatings of the prisoner has also not been confirmed by the Penitentiary Service, as emphasized in the publication.
Yaver Ismailzade is a resident of the Shamkir district; he is serving a prison sentence for the second time. He was first detained after the riots in Ganja in 2018, and in May 2019, he was sentenced to nine years in prison, which was reduced to five years by the appellate court. In May 2022, Ismailzade was released under a pardon decree signed by the president, the publication writes.
On March 30, 2023, Ismailzade was again detained on drug-related charges. In November of the same year, the Ganja Serious Crimes Court sentenced Ismailzade to three years in prison, adding to this the unserved part of the sentence from the previous conviction, resulting in a total sentence of 5.5 years. Yaver Ismailzade rejected the charges, as noted in the publication.
In July 2018, there was an assassination attempt on the head of the Ganja administration, Elmar Veliyev. After the suspect was detained, citizens took to the streets in mass protests expressing dissatisfaction with Veliyev's work. On July 10, during the dispersal of the protest, two police officers were killed. In August of the same year, Veliyev was relieved of his duties. About 60 people were convicted in connection with the riots. Yaver Ismailzade became one of the 19 convicted in the "Ganja case" who were pardoned in May 2022. Human rights defenders included Ismailzade in the list of political prisoners.
It should be noted that in September, the Azerbaijani government made changes to the rules regulating the appearance of students in public schools. Now, students are prohibited from wearing clothing items that violate the unified dress code or do not correspond to the secular nature of education.
On October 6, the cabinet approved similar requirements for the appearance of teachers. The texts of the relevant resolutions were published on "Caucasian Knot".
The authorities stated that the reform aims to completely eliminate religious, ethnic, and socio-economic differences in educational institutions. Restrictions on wearing hijabs may increase tensions between the state and the religious part of society. The actions of the authorities are possibly related to political concerns - in particular, the desire to prevent the use of religious discontent by external forces, analysts indicated in interviews with "Caucasian Knot".
News on this topic has been collected by "Caucasian Knot" on the page "Hijab as a challenge to the regime: confrontation between believers and the authorities of Azerbaijan. Who are considered radicals in Baku".