14 February 2024
The lawyer and family of the imprisoned opposition figure Gubad Ibadoghlu have accused the authorities of withholding treatment to Ibadoghlu and warned that he could fall into a coma.
Ibadoghlu was arrested in July 2023 on charges of printing, acquiring, or selling counterfeit money and supporting religious extremism.
[Listen on the Caucasus Digest: Podcast | The arrest of Gubad Ibadoghlu]
On Monday, his lawyer, Zibeyda Sadigova, stated that Ibadoghlu was being denied treatment despite suffering from heart palpitations and high blood sugar levels.
She warned that Ibadoghlu could fall into a coma if he did not receive the treatment he needed.
‘There is a place called the treatment facility — patients are sent there, where they are under the complete supervision of a doctor, and after receiving treatment, they are returned to the isolation ward. But this rule, of course, does not apply to Gubad Ibadoghlu’, she said.
In an interview with Meydan TV, Ibadoghlu’s brother, Galib Bayramov, attributed the opposition figure’s deteriorating health to the poor conditions in which he was being held. He claimed that the prison administration had also not allowed Ibadoghlu to exercise daily.
‘The Ministry of Justice falsified the results of analysis and examinations. My brother is not covered by adequate quality medical care. From a legal point of view — in accordance with international human rights conventions — this is considered inhumane treatment and torture’, said Bayramov.
Several members of Ibadoghlu’s party, the Azerbaijan Democracy and Welfare party, have been detained since Ibadgholu’s arrest in July last year. Earlier this week, a member of the party’s youth wing, Ayyub Chalabi, was sentenced to 30 days in prison.
