‘Banned without explanation’: The special prohibitions faced by Azerbaijan’s ‘political prisoners’ posted at 12:40:17 UTC via oc-media.org A poster saying ‘Freedom to political prisoners’ (Voice of America) While Azerbaijan’s authorities deny that there are political prisoners in the country’s prisons at all — local and international rights groups disagree. Many former prisoners and their families complain that those locked up on political grounds face not only an unjust deprivation of their liberty, but special prohibitions such as on reading and speaking with their families. According to the Centre for the Protection of Political Prisoners, an Azerbaijani rights group, there are 150 political prisoners being held in Azerbaijan. International human rights groups such as Amnesty International , Human Rights Watch , and Freedom House , frequently issue harsh statements against the Azerbaijani government over the arrest and detention of journalists, activists, and opposition po
