Death of editor-in-chief of "Tolyshi Sado" will strike the image of Azerbaijani authorities, local human rights activists believe

Today, Novruzali Mamedov, head of the Talysh Cultural Centre and editor-in-chief of the newspaper "Tolyshi Sado" (Voice of Talysh), who died yesterday in the prison hospital, was buried in his native village of Archivan, Astarin District, in the south of Azerbaijan. Human rights activists believe that Mamedov's death will strike the image of Azerbaijani authorities.

The "Caucasian Knot" correspondent was informed by Khilal Mamedov, chair of the committee in defence of Novruzali Mamedov's rights, that the funeral was attended by plenty of people not only from different localities of the Astarin District, but also from Baku, neighbouring areas and even from Iran.

Representatives of the Talysh nation have condemned the behaviour of the authorities of Azerbaijan in relation to Novruzali Mamedov. "They did everything for Novruzali Mamedov's physical liquidation. Initially the sick elderly man, a scientific-linguist was sentenced to 10 years of imprisonment. Then, when Novruzali Mamedov felt very bad, he was not treated for a long time. They even deprived him of a chance to die amidst his relatives. In fact, it was clear that Novruzali was living through his last days; and they could have released him for his state of health," said Khilal Mamedov, who in the past headed the Party of Equality of Azerbaijani nations.

Novruzali Mamedov's death will be another reason for deep distrust of international public for Azerbaijan. His death was expected, and the Monitoring Group of Human Rights Organizations of Azerbaijan (MGHROA) had repeatedly raised the issue of his release before the officials, as Saida Godzhamanly, head of the Bureau for Human Rights and Observance of Legality, said in her turn.

According to the list of the MGHROA, now Azerbaijan keeps 8 heavily sick political prisoners in its prisons. "All of them, like Novruzali Mamedov, are at death's door," Ms Godzhamanly believes.

Another human rights defender, Novella Dzhafaroglu, head of the Society in Defence of Women's Rights named after Dilyara Alieva, said that all the heavily sick political prisoners - namely, former ministers Ali Insanov and Farkhad Aliev, former chief of police branch in Baku Mushfig Madatov, former chief of police of the city of Gyandzha Natik Efendiev, chairman of the youth organization "Eni Fikir" (New Thinking) Ruslan Bashirli and others - should be released.

"Prisoners' deaths in jail strike the image of the country," Ms Dzhafaroglu has noted.