29 June 2007, 14:30
Human rights activists are concerned over situation with life inmates in Azerbaijan
The International Federation of Human Rights (FIDH) and the Human Rights Centre of Azerbaijan (HRCA) have expressed their deepest concern over the custody conditions and legal status of the inmates sentenced to life imprisonment in Azerbaijan. On June 18, 2007, 38 life inmates started a hunger strike in the Gobustan prison to draw the authorities' attention to their status. This is the fifth mass hunger strike in the Gobustan prison since 1999.
The protesters demand that the guidelines of PACE Resolution No. 1545 on case-by-case revision of life sentences and improvement of custody conditions of life inmates should be applied to them. In Gobustan, the fundamental rights of the prisoners are ignored: the prison is notable for poor sanitary conditions, unhealthy food, inhuman treatment, tortures and isolation from relatives. In December 2006, one of the Gobustan prison inmates was burnt to death in his cell because nobody paid due attention to the fire. The mentally impaired prisoners are left without any medical care, thus, on June 16, 2007, a mentally instable prisoner killed his cellmate. A great suicide count in the Gobustan prison is another evidence of especially depressing custody conditions there
