Prisoner Yavar Ismayilzade, on hunger strike against hijab ban, reportedly beaten

Yavar Ismayilzade, held in Penitentiary Institution No. 1 and recognised by human rights defenders as a political prisoner, has reportedly been subjected to torture and has seriously injured himself.

According to information provided by prisoners' families, Yavar Ismayilzade, a resident of the Shamkir district, has been on hunger strike since 14 October in protest against schoolgirls wearing the hijab not being admitted to schools in Azerbaijan. 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, he 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 information, the prisoner was subjected to physical violence twice in recent days and injured himself after both incidents. The first incident took place about a week ago. On 30 October he was allegedly beaten again for not complying with the demand to end the hunger strike.

Penitentiary Service staff told other prisoners held in the institution that his condition is serious. However, his family is not being informed of what has happened. There is no official information on where Yavar Ismayilzade is currently held, what medical care he is receiving or the exact state of his health. The torture allegations have not been officially confirmed, and 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 2018 events in Ganja and in May 2019 was sentenced by the Ganja Grave Crimes Court to 9 years in prison. 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.

He was detained again on 30 March 2023 and charged with drug-related offences. 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, giving him a total of 5 years and 6 months. Yavar Ismayilzade rejects the charges, and human rights defenders consider his arrest politically motivated.

Reports have also emerged this month of other prisoners on hunger strike in protest against the hijab ban. Gulmira Aslanova, the wife of imprisoned journalist Polad Aslanov, said he has been on hunger strike since 12 October and was beaten in Penitentiary Institution No. 15.