Inmates' relatives doubt MoJ's data on count of those infected in Azerbaijani jails

The COVID-19 has been diagnosed in 33 prisoners kept in Azerbaijani jails, the country's Ministry of Justice (MoJ) has informed. Their relatives believe that there are many more infected inmates and worry about their health.

According to Amina Gadjieva, a sister of Djakhangir Gadjiev, a former head of the Open Joint-Stock Company (OJSC) "International Bank of Azerbaijan" (IBA), who is serving his term in Colony No. 13, "the sanitary and hygienic situation in this colony is difficult."

"Inmates are sick there en masse; and no measures were taken. Only after I contacted the Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliev through mass media, the MoJ acknowledged the presence of infected inmates," Ms Gadjieva told the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent.

She asserts that "in fact, there are more than 33 patients among prisoners." "Last time, I talked to Djakhangir on the phone last Saturday (May 9); then, tests proved to be positive in 28 inmates. He called me again tonight (on May 13) and said that 96 prisoners had already been taken away from their colony. From his barrack only, where 60 inmates had been kept, 30 convicts were taken away. The real number of infected inmates is unknown," Ms Gadjieva has stated.

This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on May 13, 2020 at 11:18 pm MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.