AZERBAIJAN. PRISONERS ON DEATH ON HUNGER STRIKE

109 prisoners whose verdict was replaced by life imprisonment after abolishment of capital punishment launched hunger strike. These people kept in closed prison in Gobustan demand to re-consider their cases and to change the verdict. Human right activist, Chingiz Ganizade, holding that demands of prisoners are legal, explained that the situation is caused due to some problems in legislation.
Accordingly to him, human right activists regard this issue ambiguously. “Some of them hold that the verdict is of legal nature, however, others want to reduce the term to 15 years”, he points out.
Ch. Ganizade informed that in connection with this issue working group including human right activists, major part of which advocate re-consideration of the cases has been recruited. “However, the work is done on the level of discussion, as working group has no sufficient authorities. We advocate peaceful solving of the problem. Hunger strike launched by these prisoners is the part of peaceful way to solve the problem”.
Ch. Ganizade informed about his intention to visit prisoners in near future: “If their verdict is changed then the part of them will be released as they were 15 years in prison”.
Head of legal firm “Viza”, Aslan Ismailov, also told about problems in law connected with the issue in question. He stressed that demands of the mentioned prisoners are legal. However he believes that it is not fair to change the verdict: “There are people who committed assassination among them. I believe it wouldn’t fair if their verdict was changed”.