The lawyer of the detained blogger
Khalid Khanlarov
was barred from meeting with her client on February 1. After waiting for an hour at the detention facility for administrative offenders of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, Shahla Humbatova was informed by prison authorities that she was not allowed to see Khanlarov.
The lawyer told Meydan TV that prison guards refused to let her in after consulting with the head of the prison. “They told me that disinfection works were being held in prison, therefore the meeting is not possible. I responded that I had been waiting for an hour, did not they know that disinfection was in process? Did you find only now after talking with the head of the prison?”
The lawyer is concerned that, her client is being subjected to pressure. “I asked them to allow me to meet with Khalid for at least 5 minutes, but they did not allow me. I suspect that something may be wrong with Khalid. He is being pressured.”
The head of the press department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, Orkhan Mansurzada, told Azadliq that he would clarify the situation in the second half of the day.
Khanlarov, who was arrested on January 23, was sentenced to 25 days of administrative detention. A day before his arrest, he was summoned to the Ministry of Internal Affairs for questioning about his activities on social networks.
Khanlarov is 20 years old and is a third year student at the Qafqaz University in Baku.
According to the Azerbaijani Political Prisoners Working Group, Azerbaijan currently imprisons at least nine bloggers and social media activists.
