Jailed activist Bakhtiyar Hajiyev complains of inhumane treatment in penitentiary institution

Jailed civic activist Bakhtiyar Hajiyev is complaining about the management and guards of Penitentiary Institution No. 6, where he is being held. His brother, Vugar Hajiyev, shared the information on his social media account.

According to Vugar Hajiyev, his brother says he has been subjected to inhumane treatment by staff of the penitentiary institution. Bakhtiyar Hajiyev has appealed to the newly appointed head of the Penitentiary Service, Major General of Justice Sahib Rzayev, asking him to send a representative and investigate his complaint. The post gave no further details on what the alleged treatment specifically consisted of or when the incidents took place.

Sahib Rzayev was appointed Deputy Minister of Justice and Head of the Penitentiary Service by order of Ilham Aliyev on October 27. He replaced Mirsaleh Seyidov in the post. The Penitentiary Service's position on the latest complaint is not yet known; responding to similar complaints earlier, the agency said prisoners are not discriminated against and are treated within the framework of the law.

Bakhtiyar Hajiyev has previously said his rights were violated at Penitentiary Institution No. 6. In August 2025, his family said they were concerned about his conditions of detention and his health, and that the activist was having difficulty contacting his lawyer and the Ombudsman's Office, as well as obtaining necessary medical care.

In November of that year, it was reported that Bakhtiyar Hajiyev had been held in a punishment cell for three days and had begun a hunger strike. Vugar Hajiyev said at the time that a dispute had arisen with the institution's management after the activist demanded a change in his conditions of detention; according to him, applications addressed to the management were torn up, Bakhtiyar Hajiyev was pushed and insulted, and then placed in a punishment cell. The family said it had appealed to the Ministry of Justice, the Penitentiary Service and the Ombudsman's Office.

Bakhtiyar Hajiyev was arrested on December 9, 2022. He was initially charged with hooliganism and contempt of court; later, charges of illegal entrepreneurship, smuggling, legalisation of criminally obtained funds, tax evasion and others were added to the case. On January 13, 2025, the Baku Grave Crimes Court sentenced him to 10 years in prison and ordered the confiscation of his apartment and the funds in his bank account. On April 7 of that year the Baku Court of Appeal, and on November 18 the Supreme Court, upheld the verdict.

Bakhtiyar Hajiyev rejects the charges and links his arrest to his political activity and his criticism of government officials. On September 24, 2026, he addressed an appeal to the international community from Penitentiary Institution No. 6, drawing attention to the situation of political prisoners in Azerbaijan and criticising the US and the European Union for remaining silent towards the Azerbaijani authorities on human rights.