Anar Mammadli’s health continues to deteriorate due to limited access to medical care
At Anar Mammadli’s direct request, the Anar Mammadli Campaign to End Repression in Azerbaijan is alarmed by the continued deterioration
of Anar Mammadli’s health while in detention in Baku, Azerbaijan.
We call upon the government of the Republic of Azerbaijan, in particular the Medical Department of the Ministry of Justice of Azerbaijan, to fulfil Anar Mammadli’s right to adequate medical examination and care whilst in detention.
We also call on the international community to take up the case of Anar Mammadli as a matter of priority.
Anar Mammadli is currently being held in Baku’s pre-trial detention facility in Kurdakhani, and his health has been steadily deteriorating. To date, he has not wanted his health condition or requests for independent medical examination and care to be made public.
Given the lack of responsiveness of the authorities, he now urgently requires examination and adequate care for the following concerns:
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- Anar Mammadli presents with symptoms of chronic bronchitis, including shortness of breath and sore throat. In addition, he reports occasional difficulty swallowing and a regular cough since his detention. He does not receive adequate treatment for this chronic bronchitis while in detention;
- Anar Mamamdli also suffers from arthritis pain in his knee. He was diagnosed with arthritis years ago. The current state of inactivity due to his detention has resulted in a marked increase in the pain in his knee joints.
- Anar Mamamdli suffers from stomach cramps and headaches: During meals, the stomach tube becomes numb and spasms. At that moment he feels dizzy. This problem was not addressed by the prison authorities;
- In addition, Anar Mammadli has a slipped disc in his back: he has been suffering from a slipped disc in his lumbar vertebra for three years. This requires regular examination and care, which is not being provided while he is in detention.
- We are concerned about the lack of an independent medical examination of Anar Mammadli and extremely concerned about the lack of adequate medical care provided to him in the Baku Pre-trial Detention Facility.
Conditions of detention in places of detention in Azerbaijan fall far short of international standards (documented in our report, page 25-26), which only adds to the urgency of our call for Anar Mammadli’s case to be prioritized.
We fear that if Anar Mammadli’s health concerns remain unaddressed while in detention, they may have irreparable effects on his physical and mental health.
The state has a particular duty to preserve the right to health of individuals kept in places of detention under international human rights law, notably the UN Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners of Prisoners (known as the Nelson Mandela Rules) emphasise the state responsibility for health care and affirm that people in prison should enjoy the same standards of health care available in the in the community. Access to health care is guaranteed under the European Prison Rules, developed by the Council of Europe, 39-41 and 46-47, and we call upon the criminal justice authorities of Azerbaijan to fully uphold Anar Mammadli’s rights to examination and health care whilst in detention.
About Anar Mammadli
Anar Mammadli is a highly respected democracy and human rights defender and the head of Azerbaijan’s only independent election monitoring body, the Election Monitoring and Democracy Studies Centre (EMDS). He has more than twenty years of professional experience in election monitoring, good governance and the promotion of political rights in Azerbaijan and other post-Soviet countries. On 30 April 2024, the Khatai District Court of Baku decided to place Anar Mammadli in pre-trial detention. This detention comes a week after Anar Mammamdli publicly announced the establishment of the Climate Justice Initiative, ahead of the UN climate conference in Baku in November (COP29). He is charged with conspiracy to illegally bring money into the country, an offense under Article 206.3.2 of Azerbaijan’s Criminal Code, and faces up to eight years in prison if convicted.
Anar Mammadli had previously been detained for two and a half years. The European Court of Human Rights found that the detention was not justified by any motive other than political.
In September 2014, while in prison, he was awarded the prestigious Václav Havel Human Rights Prize by the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe for his outstanding contribution to civil society in the defence of human rights.
We call for the immediate and unconditional release and full rehabilitation of Anar Mammadli. While in detention, his right to an independent medical examination and adequate medical care must be respected by the Azerbaijani authorities.
For further information, please contact the Anar Mammadli Campaign’s representative, Florian Irminger, at fi@progress-change-actionlab.org or +41 79 751 80 42.
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