Azerbaijan: Novruzali Mamedov's widow believes that her husband was killed in prison

Mariam Mamedova, the widow of Novruzali Mamedov, head of the Talysh Cultural Centre and editor-in-chief of the newspaper "Tolyshi Sado" (Voice of Talysh), who dyed in Azerbaijan in imprisonment, believes that he was killed. The woman has filed a complaint to the General Public Prosecutor of Azerbaijan Zakir Garalov.

"I state that my husband was killed! I demand to objectively establish the cause of his death, to involve international lawyers and experts in this process and to punish everyone guilty of his illness and death," says the appeal that has arrived to the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent from the Committee in Defence of N. Mamedov's Rights.

Now, the Prosecutor's Office of the Nizami District is clearing the reasons of the death of Novruzali Mamedov, who died on August 17, 2009, in medical establishment of the Penitentiary Service of the Ministry of Justice.

Mr Mamedov was under arrest from February 2, 2007. From that time on, as Mariam Mamedova assets, active actions against him began with the aim to "break" him; he and the members of his family were under physical and moral pressure. "Being unable to withstand the moral and psychological torture, on September 8, 2007, my senior son died from cardiac insufficiency at the age of 36. Our younger son, born in 1974, 7 days prior to his father's conviction was also arrested and sentenced to imprisonment," runs the statement.

As a proof of inhuman treatment of her husband, Mariam Mamedova mentioned Novruzali Mamedov's placement into the penal cell (dungeon) on January 14, 2009. Its wet concrete floor, absence of windows and a wet mattress (issued to the inmate for 7 hours, and he has to stand for the remaining 17 hours) played an essential role in Novruzali's health deterioration. On January 21, 2009, after a visit of human rights activist Elchin Bekhbudov, Novruzali Mamedov was let out of the dungeon.

Later he addressed the Nizami Court on the fact of application of violence and torture against him. By the decision of the court of March 6, 2009, his complaint was partially satisfied, and the former head of the corrective establishment Yu. Allakhverdiev was obliged to hold Memedov's examination and treatment; however, he was never punished for his illegal actions.

On July 28, 2009, Novruzali Mamedov was brought, in a grave condition, to the central hospital of the Penitentiary Service of the Ministry of Justice. Till August 17, that is, for 21 days he did not receive the necessary treatment. Mariam Mamedova states that it was done deliberately with the aim to kill him.

"I'm sure that his medical record was also forged in order to erase the traces of the crime. I'm a biologist, a candidate of biology, and I'm sure that his death wasn't without interference," runs her statement.

The press service of the State Office of Public Prosecutor of Azerbaijan has refrained from any comments on the appeal of N. Mamedov's widow to the General Public Prosecutor, having referred to the "absence of information about it."