Azerbaijan activist Elvin Nazarov sent to solitary confinement, family says

Elvin Nazarov

An imprisoned Azerbaijani religious activist has been placed in solitary confinement and faces transfer to a high-security prison, according to his family.

Elvin Nazarov has been held in a punishment cell at Prison No. 12 since 21 May, and authorities are reportedly preparing to move him to the closed Umbakı Penitentiary Complex.

His wife, Shabnam Nazarova, said prison officials routinely accuse targeted inmates of disciplinary infractions to justify transferring them to stricter facilities.

"Elvin is currently in the punishment cell and all his rights have been violated," she said in a statement shared by journalist Arzu Abdulla.

Nazarova added that her husband's money had been confiscated by prison authorities, leaving him unable to buy food from the prison canteen to supplement what she described as "inedible" prison meals.

She also raised concerns about Nazarov's deteriorating health, noting that he was recently treated at a penitentiary medical facility for a growing gallbladder polyp. Doctors had previously advised that he required a proper diet and should not be kept in closed, confined conditions, she said.

Azerbaijan's Penitentiary Service has not responded to requests for comment regarding the allegations.

Nazarov, a Shia Muslim activist, was arrested in 2024 during a widespread crackdown on religious believers in Azerbaijan. In January 2025, the Sheki Court of Grave Crimes sentenced him to five and a half years in prison on drug-related charges, which local rights groups have disputed.

He was previously arrested in July 2018 following an armed attack on the former mayor of Ganja, Elmar Valiyev. Nazarov served a sentence of two years and six months before his release in January 2021.