An Azerbaijani man has been killed in police detention after being detained and beaten with his two brothers — one of whom has disabilities — OC Media has learned.
Turkhan Isgandarov, an Azerbaijani man based in Sumgayit, a city north-west of Baku, told OC Media that his brother, Elvin Isgandarov was beaten to death in police detention on 14 June.
He said that Elvin Isgandarov was detained late that evening after the police attempted to break up a dispute between Elvin and their brother, Jabrayil, who has intellectual disabilities.
Turkhan told OC Media that Jabrayil asked the police to stay out of the argument, but police then attacked Jabrayil. Elvin urged them to stop, telling them that his brother had a disability.
He added that bystanders at the cafe gathered around the siblings and also told the police that Jabrayil had a disability and could not ‘fully understand the situation’.
‘They pushed one of the women to the ground and used [pepper] spray against her’, Turkhan told OC Media.
Turkhan attempted to break up the fight, but the police assaulted him as well.
‘After they beat us, they took us to the police station. The police beat us in the police station too’.
Elvin then shouted at the police officers to stop beating Turkhan, because he was ill, after which the police hit Elvin in the head with a baton. The three brothers were released from police detention, but, according to both Turkhan and police surveillance footage, Elvin collapsed after stepping outside the police station’s door.
Their uncle arrived at the police station where he found Elvin lying face down, and attempted to resuscitate him until an ambulance arrived. On arrival, the paramedics declared Elvin dead.
Photos of Elvin’s injuries seen by OC Media show his body covered with large bruises.
A relative of Elvin’s told OC Media that the owner of the cafe also works as security police. They suggested that this meant that he could make use of groups of police officers who are willing to work for bribes, and provide a percentage of that income to the head of a police station.
‘A heart attack and liver disease’
Following Elvin’s death, Azerbaijan’s Interior Ministry denied that he was beaten to death by the police, claiming instead that he had died of a heart attack and liver cirrhosis.
In a statement given to Voice of America, the ministry said that the police responded to a dispute between ‘several drunk people’ in a cafe in Sumgayit late at night.
‘After the tension between the parties was resolved, they were taken to the police station. One of them, Elvin, suddenly lost his balance and fell to the ground in front of the police station’.
‘The incident occurred in the presence of several people, relatives, friends, brothers, and under a surveillance camera. An ambulance was called, however, Elvin Isgandarov died’, the statement read.
‘According to doctors, the cause of his death was cirrhosis of the liver and a heart attack,’ the ministry added.
However, the Isgandarov family has firmly denied that Elvin suffered from any liver or heart diseases, stating that he regularly underwent medical examinations.
After appealing to the Prosecutor’s Office in Sumgayit, the agency asked the Isgandarovs to provide them with a list of witnesses to prove that Elvin was killed by the police.
The Prosecutor’s Office has shown the Isgandarovs footage of the siblings’ detention at the police station, but the family says that the video was doctored by the police, and only showed Elvin leaving the station and collapsing in front of it.
Yalchin Imanov, a former human rights lawyer, told OC Media that it was the Prosecutor’s Office’s responsibility to collect evidence and find witnesses to the incident.
‘This is not the responsibility of Elvin’s relatives. If the prosecutor asks for this, it is completely illegal. Maybe the Prosecutor’s Office will decide to close this case without opening a criminal case.’
The Isgandarovs have told OC Media that the police have already identified witnesses to the dispute and Elvin’s death and threatened them.
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