detention places shall be sent to the Commissioner without censorship
within 24 hours.36 Such provisions are envisaged in the Law of the Republic
of Azerbaijan on “Ensuring the rights and freedoms of persons kept in the
places of detention”37 and the Code on Execution of Punishments38.
According to the international experience the right to respect to secret
personal correspondence assumes high importance in ensuring the delivery
of information on ill treatment to relevant bodies. The states shall provide
all resources for ensuring the right of persons deprived of liberty to
correspondence. There is a need in carrying out relevant measures for
elimination of such cases in the Republic of Azerbaijan as well.
The CPT recommends ensuring delivery of all claims and information
about ill treatment to the authorized bodies, as well as proposes additional
measures with this regard. Thus, “Apart from the possibility for persons to
lodge complaints directly with the agency…; appropriate forms should be
introduced for acknowledging receipt of a complaint and confirming that
the matter will be pursued.”39
From this standpoint the Commissioner recommends increasing the
control over ensuring the right of persons deprived of their liberty to
correspondence and of the confidentiality as one of the tools to prevent ill
treatment.
The Commissioner is of the opinion that there is a need in enshrining in
the “Instruction on security measures and their application rules in the
penitentiary system of the Republic of Azerbaijan” of the duties of
penitentiary institution staff when application special means and, at the
same time, in improvement of the rules of application of those means in
compliance with the UN Standard Minimum Rules for the treatment of the
prisoners, European Prison Rules, at the same time CPT Standards.40 Thus,
this measure would be important for non allowance of abuse in application
of special means.
The analysis of applications addressed to the Commissioner, meetings
with persons received during the visits, calls on the relevant Hot-Line of the
Ombudsman show that there are cases of violations of the rights relating the
meetings of persons deprived of liberty with family members and relatives,
reception of parcels and phone conversations. Thus, realization of these
36
The Constitutional Law of the Republic of Azerbaijan on the Commissioner for Human
Rights (Ombudsman) of the Republic of Azerbaijan (28.12.2001), Article 8.5
37
The Law of the Republic of Azerbaijan on Ensuring the Rights and Freedoms of persons
kept in detention places (22.05.2012), Article 18;
38
The Code of the Republic of Azerbaijan on Execution of Punishments (14.07.2000),
Articles 83.2 and 83.5;
39
The 14th General Report on the CPT activities. CPT/Inf (2004) para. 28-38;
40
The UN Standards Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners, para.33; European
Prison Rules Para. 68.2 and 68.3.
66
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