Samir Ashurov: “The doctor said you have to be almost dead for me to write a report”

Samir Ashurov

Imprisoned activist Samir Ashurov is still reporting problems with his health.

His wife, Nurana Ashurova, posted on Facebook that after waiting a long while, the activist finally saw the head doctor at Penitentiary Institution No. 2, where he is being held. The doctor would not write him a report.

“Samir Ashurov went to see the head doctor, Saddam Huseynli, and told him his lungs hurt. He wanted a report to get treatment at the prison’s medical unit. The head doctor answered that he could not write one unless Samir was nearly dead,” she wrote.

When Ashurov asked why, the doctor started complaining about his job:

“The doctor told him to go complain instead. He is fed up and has been asking to be fired for two weeks because he doesn’t want to work anymore,” Nurana Ashurova reported, quoting her husband.

She also said that the Penitentiary Service has not answered her calls.

It's not enough to arrest innocent people; political prisoners aren't getting treatment and are being sentenced to death. What can we do, and who can we tell about our problems? Treat Samir Ashurov in prison the same way you infected him, his wife said.

Samir Ashurov was deported from Germany on March 29, 2023, and police detained him 20 days later. He was charged with stabbing someone.

On December 18, 2023, the Baku Grave Crimes Court found him guilty under Criminal Code Articles 126.2 (intentionally causing serious harm to health as an act of hooliganism) and 221.3 (hooliganism with a weapon). He was sentenced to 6 years and 6 months in prison.

He says he is innocent and that this is punishment for his political actions. Human rights activists say he is a political prisoner.