Afiaddin Mammadov's Phone Access Limited

Afiaddin Mammadov

Reports suggest that Afiaddin Mammadov, head of the Workers' Table Trade Union Confederation and a worker rights advocate, can't make phone calls at Penitentiary Establishment No. 2, where he is held.

His family shared this information, saying the restriction followed Mammadov's recent interview. After it was published, the prison administration stopped all of Mammadov's calls, and now he can't be contacted.

The administration wasn't happy with his interview with journalist Ulviyya Ali (arrested in the Meydan TV case). In it, Mammadov said the prison conditions were bad and inmates weren't getting needed medical care.

According to Workers' Table, a prison employee named Vusal Aslanov stops Mammadov from using the phone, pressures him, and stirs up arguments with other inmates.

His family says they haven't been able to reach him for days and don't know how he is doing. The Penitentiary Service hasn't commented.

Prison rules state that phone call access depends on the sentence. Those with fixed terms get two 15-minute calls each week, while those serving life sentences get one 15-minute call per week.

About Afiaddin Mammadov and Workers' Table

Mammadov leads the Workers' Table Trade Union Confederation, which started on March 1, 2022, to defend worker rights in Azerbaijan.

Mammadov has been active in protests for worker rights. He has been arrested for his activism, once charged with petty hooliganism and disobeying police.

He was first arrested on September 20, 2023, accused of hurting someone with a knife. Later, he was charged under Criminal Code Articles 126.2.4 (serious intentional injury with hooligan intentions), 221.3 (hooliganism with weapons), and 228.4 (illegally buying, selling, or carrying cold weapons). On January 14, a Baku court sentenced him to 8 years in prison. Mammadov claims the charges are fake and politically motivated.

The arrests of Workers' Table Trade Union Confederation members began after a courier protest in August 2023. Currently, four members are in prison: Chairman Afiaddin Mammadov, and members Aykhan Israfilov, Elvin Mustafayev, and Mohyaddin Orucov.

Local human rights groups consider Workers' Table members to be political prisoners. They say there are around 400 political prisoners in Azerbaijan. Officials deny this, saying these people were prosecuted for their actions.