Lawyer says activist Bakhtiyar Hajiyev’s rights are being grossly violated

The rights of Azerbaijani activist Bakhtiyar Hajiyev are being grossly violated in prison, his lawyer Elchin Sadigov told anews.az on Friday.

According to the lawyer, Hajiyev is not provided with the same conditions as other inmates. “There is discrimination. We have repeatedly appealed to all state bodies, but there has been no positive outcome. I last met him about 10 days ago. He also has health problems and is not being examined by doctors,” Sadigov said.

The Baku Serious Crimes Court sentenced Hajiyev to 10 years in prison after convicting him in December 2022 of hooliganism and contempt of court.

In July, additional charges were brought against him, including illegal entrepreneurship, money laundering, smuggling, falsifying official documents, and using forged documents. In November, he was also charged with tax evasion and failing to pay mandatory insurance contributions.

Hajiyev, a Harvard graduate in international relations, denies the charges and says his arrest is politically motivated. Human rights defenders have recognized him as a political prisoner.