Prisoner Yavar Ismayilzade, who protests the hijab ban, reportedly beaten and harmed himself

Yavar Ismayilzade, held at Penitentiary Institution No. 1 and recognised by human rights defenders as a political prisoner, has reportedly been tortured and harmed himself. Prisoners' families provided this information.

According to the information, Yavar Ismayilzade, a resident of Shamkir district, has been on hunger strike since 14 October in protest against schoolgirls wearing the hijab being barred from schools. He was reportedly placed in a punishment cell ("kars") from the first day of the protest and was repeatedly pressured to end the hunger strike. According to the allegations, the prisoner was threatened with transfer to the stricter-regime Umbaki prison and with an extension of his sentence if he did not end the hunger strike.

According to the source, Ismayilzade was subjected to physical violence twice in recent days and harmed himself after both incidents. The first incident reportedly took place about a week ago. On 30 October he was allegedly beaten again for refusing to end his hunger strike. According to the information, the prisoner seriously harmed himself in protest.

The source claims that Penitentiary Service staff told other prisoners at the institution that Ismayilzade's condition was serious, but his family is not being informed about his health or what happened. There is currently no official information on where Yavar Ismayilzade is being held, what medical care he is receiving or the state of his health. The allegations of beating and self-harm have not been confirmed by independent sources; the Penitentiary Service's position on the matter is not yet known.

Yavar Azer oglu Ismayilzade, a member of the Muslim Unity Movement, is in prison for the second time. He was first detained after the events in Ganja in 2018. In May 2019 the Ganja Grave Crimes Court sentenced him to 9 years in prison, and in August of that year the appeals court reduced the sentence to 5 years. Ismayilzade was released in May 2022 under a pardon decree signed by Ilham Aliyev.

On 30 March 2023 he was detained again, this time on drug-related charges. On 21 November 2023 the Ganja Grave Crimes Court sentenced him to 3 years in prison; the remaining 2 years and 6 months of his previous sentence were added to the new verdict, and he was given a total prison term of 5 years and 6 months. Yavar Ismayilzade rejects the charges, while human rights defenders consider his imprisonment politically motivated.